Mazmur 45:6-7

45:6 Your throne, ¹  O God, is permanent. ² 

The scepter ³  of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

45:7 You love ⁴  justice and hate evil. ⁵ 

For this reason God, your God ⁶  has anointed you ⁷ 

with the oil of joy, ⁸  elevating you above your companions. ⁹ 

Mazmur 72:1-4

Psalm 72 ¹⁰ 

For ¹¹  Solomon.

72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ¹² 

Grant the king’s son ¹³  the ability to make fair decisions! ¹⁴ 

72:2 Then he will judge ¹⁵  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ¹⁶  equitably.

72:3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,

and the hills will announce justice. ¹⁷ 

72:4 He will defend ¹⁸  the oppressed among the people;

he will deliver ¹⁹  the children ²⁰  of the poor

and crush the oppressor.

Mazmur 72:12-14

72:12 For he will rescue the needy ²¹  when they cry out for help,

and the oppressed ²²  who have no defender.

72:13 He will take pity ²³  on the poor and needy;

the lives of the needy he will save.

72:14 From harm and violence he will defend them; ²⁴ 

he will value their lives. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 82:2-4

82:2 He says, ²⁶  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ²⁷  (Selah)

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ²⁸ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!

Deliver them from the power ²⁹  of the wicked!

[45:6]  ¹ sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

[45:6]  ² tn Or “forever and ever.”

[45:6]  sn O God. The king is clearly the addressee here, as in vv. 2-5 and 7-9. Rather than taking the statement at face value, many prefer to emend the text because the concept of deifying the earthly king is foreign to ancient Israelite thinking (cf. NEB “your throne is like God’s throne, eternal”). However, it is preferable to retain the text and take this statement as another instance of the royal hyperbole that permeates the royal psalms. Because the Davidic king is God’s vice-regent on earth, the psalmist addresses him as if he were God incarnate. God energizes the king for battle and accomplishes justice through him. A similar use of hyperbole appears in Isa 9:6, where the ideal Davidic king of the eschaton is given the title “Mighty God” (see the note on this phrase there). Ancient Near Eastern art and literature picture gods training kings for battle, bestowing special weapons, and intervening in battle. According to Egyptian propaganda, the Hittites described Rameses II as follows: “No man is he who is among us, It is Seth great-of-strength, Baal in person; Not deeds of man are these his doings, They are of one who is unique” (see Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:67). Ps 45:6 and Isa 9:6 probably envision a similar kind of response when friends and foes alike look at the Davidic king in full battle regalia. When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself.

[45:6]  ³ sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

[45:7]  ⁴ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ⁵ sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ⁶ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁷ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ⁸ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[45:7]  sn Verses 6-7 are quoted in Heb 1:8-9, where they are applied to Jesus.

[72:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

[72:1]  ¹¹ tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

[72:1]  ¹² tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

[72:1]  ¹³ sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

[72:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”

[72:2]  ¹⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ¹⁶ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[72:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[the] mountains will bear peace to the people, and [the] hills with justice.” The personified mountains and hills probably represent messengers who will sweep over the land announcing the king’s just decrees and policies. See Isa 52:7 and C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:133.

[72:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “judge [for].”

[72:4]  ¹⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “sons.”

[72:12]  ²¹ tn The singular is representative. The typical needy individual here represents the entire group.

[72:12]  ²² tn The singular is representative. The typical oppressed individual here represents the entire group.

[72:13]  ²³ tn The prefixed verb form is best understood as a defectively written imperfect (see Deut 7:16).

[72:14]  ²⁴ tn Or “redeem their lives.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Pss 19:14; 69:18).

[72:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “their blood will be precious in his eyes.”

[82:2]  ²⁶ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).

[82:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[82:3]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[82:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “hand.”