Mazmur 2:5

2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them

and terrifies them in his rage, ¹  saying, ² 

Mazmur 2:10

2:10 So now, you kings, do what is wise; ³ 

you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! ⁴ 

Mazmur 48:4-6

48:4 For ⁵  look, the kings assemble; ⁶ 

they advance together.

48:5 As soon as they see, ⁷  they are shocked; ⁸ 

they are terrified, they quickly retreat. ⁹ 

48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, ¹⁰ 

like a woman writhing in childbirth. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 68:12

68:12 Kings leading armies run away – they run away! ¹² 

The lovely lady ¹³  of the house divides up the loot.

Mazmur 68:35

68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! ¹⁴ 

It is the God of Israel ¹⁵  who gives the people power and strength.

God deserves praise! ¹⁶ 

[2:5]  ¹ sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.

[2:5]  ² tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).

[2:10]  ³ sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.

[2:10]  ⁴ tn The Niphal has here a tolerative nuance; the kings are urged to submit themselves to the advice being offered.

[48:4]  ⁵ tn The logical connection between vv. 3-4 seems to be this: God is the protector of Zion and reveals himself as the city’s defender – this is necessary because hostile armies threaten the city.

[48:4]  ⁶ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 4-6 are understood as descriptive. In dramatic style (note הִנֵּה, hinneh, “look”) the psalm describes an enemy attack against the city as if it were occurring at this very moment. Another option is to take the perfects as narrational (“the kings assembled, they advanced”), referring to a particular historical event, such as Sennacherib’s siege of the city in 701 b.c. (cf. NIV, NRSV). Even if one translates the verses in a dramatic-descriptive manner (as the present translation does), the Lord’s victory over the Assyrians was probably what served as the inspiration of the description (see v. 8).

[48:5]  ⁷ tn The object of “see” is omitted, but v. 3b suggests that the Lord’s self-revelation as the city’s defender is what they see.

[48:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “they look, so they are shocked.” Here כֵּן (ken, “so”) has the force of “in the same measure.”

[48:5]  ⁹ tn The translation attempts to reflect the staccato style of the Hebrew text, where the main clauses of vv. 4-6 are simply juxtaposed without connectives.

[48:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “trembling seizes them there.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[48:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”

[48:6]  sn The language of vv. 5-6 is reminiscent of Exod 15:15.

[68:12]  ¹² tn The verbal repetition draws attention to the statement.

[68:12]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house” makes no sense here. The translation assumes that the form is an alternative or corruption of נצוה (“beautiful woman”). A reference to a woman would be appropriate in light of v. 11b.

[68:35]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).

[68:35]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”

[68:35]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”