Mazmur 2:6

2:6 “I myself ¹  have installed ²  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

Mazmur 10:16

10:16 The Lord rules forever! ³ 

The nations are driven out of his land. ⁴ 

Mazmur 20:9

20:9 The Lord will deliver the king; ⁵ 

he will answer us ⁶  when we call to him for help! ⁷ 

Mazmur 29:10

29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, ⁸ 

the Lord sits enthroned ⁹  as the eternal king.

Mazmur 44:4

44:4 You are my ¹⁰  king, O God!

Decree ¹¹  Jacob’s ¹²  deliverance!

Mazmur 45:15

45:15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession

and enter the royal palace. ¹³ 

Mazmur 47:6-7

47:6 Sing to God! Sing!

Sing to our king! Sing!

47:7 For God is king of the whole earth!

Sing a well-written song! ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 48:4

48:4 For ¹⁵  look, the kings assemble; ¹⁶ 

they advance together.

Mazmur 68:14

68:14 When the sovereign judge ¹⁷  scatters kings, ¹⁸ 

let it snow ¹⁹  on Zalmon!

Mazmur 68:24

68:24 They ²⁰  see your processions, O God –

the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor. ²¹ 

Mazmur 68:29

68:29 as you come out of your temple in Jerusalem! ²² 

Kings bring tribute to you.

Mazmur 72:11

72:11 All kings will bow down to him;

all nations will serve him.

Mazmur 74:12

74:12 But God has been my ²³  king from ancient times,

performing acts of deliverance on the earth. ²⁴ 

Mazmur 76:12

76:12 He humbles princes; ²⁵ 

the kings of the earth regard him as awesome. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 89:18

89:18 For our shield ²⁷  belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel. ²⁸ 

Mazmur 89:27

89:27 I will appoint him to be my firstborn son, ²⁹ 

the most exalted of the earth’s kings.

Mazmur 98:6

98:6 With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,

shout out praises before the king, the Lord!

Mazmur 105:14

105:14 He let no one oppress them;

he disciplined kings for their sake,

Mazmur 110:5

110:5 O sovereign Lord, ³⁰  at your right hand

he strikes down ³¹  kings in the day he unleashes his anger. ³² 

Mazmur 148:11

148:11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,

you princes and all you leaders ³³  on the earth,

Mazmur 149:2

149:2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator!

Let the people ³⁴  of Zion delight in their king! ³⁵ 

[2:6]  ¹ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ² tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[10:16]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord is king forever and ever.”

[10:16]  ⁴ tn Or “the nations perish from his land.” The perfect verb form may express what is typical or it may express rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude that God’s deliverance is “as good as done.”

[10:16]  sn The nations may be the underlying reality behind the psalmist’s references to the “wicked” in the earlier verses. This reference to the nations may have motivated the combining of Ps 10 with Ps 9 (see Ps 9:5, 15, 19).

[20:9]  ⁵ tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshi’ah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O Lord, deliver”). But the immediate context is one of confidence (vv. 6-8), not petition (vv. 1-5). If one takes the final he on the verb “deliver” as dittographic (note the initial he (ה) on the following phrase, “the king”), one can repoint the verbal form as a perfect and understand it as expressing the people’s confidence, “the Lord will deliver the king” (see v. 6). The Hebrew scribal tradition takes “the king” with the following line, in which case it would be best interpreted as a divine title, “may the King answer us” or “the king will answer us” (see Pss 98:6; 145:1). However, the poetic parallelism is better balanced if “the king” is taken with the first line. In this case the referent is the Davidic king, who is earlier called the Lord’s “anointed one” (cf. note on “chosen king” in v. 6; see Pss 21:7; 45:5, 11; 63:11).

[20:9]  ⁶ tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).

[20:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the day we call.”

[29:10]  ⁸ tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.

[29:10]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.

[44:4]  ¹⁰ sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.

[44:4]  ¹¹ tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).

[44:4]  tn Or “command.” This may be the Israelites’ petition prior to the battle. See the introductory note to the psalm.

[44:4]  ¹² tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[45:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “they are led with joy and happiness, they enter the house of the king.”

[47:7]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term also occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142. Here, in a context of celebration, the meaning “skillful, well-written” would fit particularly well.

[48:4]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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).

[68:14]  ¹⁷ tn The divine name used here is שַׁדַּי (“Shaddai”). Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life, blesses and kills, and judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses (protects) and takes away life and/or happiness.

[68:14]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “in it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix may refer back to God’s community/dwelling place (v. 10).

[68:14]  ¹⁹ tn The verb form appears to be a Hiphil jussive from שָׁלַג (shalag), which is usually understood as a denominative verb from שֶׁלֶג (sheleg, “snow”) with an indefinite subject. The form could be taken as a preterite, in which case one might translate, “when the sovereign judge scattered kings, it snowed on Zalmon” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The point of the image is unclear. Perhaps “snow” suggests fertility and blessing (see v. 9 and Isa 55:10), or the image of a snow-capped mountain suggests grandeur.

[68:14]  sn Zalmon was apparently a mountain in the region, perhaps the one mentioned in Judg 9:46 as being in the vicinity of Shechem.

[68:24]  ²⁰ tn The subject is probably indefinite, referring to bystanders in general who witness the procession.

[68:24]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text has simply “in holiness.” The words “who marches along” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[68:29]  ²² tn Heb “Be strong, O God, [you] who have acted for us, from your temple in Jerusalem.”

[68:29]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[74:12]  ²³ tn The psalmist speaks as Israel’s representative here.

[74:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the earth.”

[76:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.

[76:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”

[89:18]  ²⁷ tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “our king" here and with “your anointed one” in Ps 84:9.

[89:18]  ²⁸ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

[89:27]  ²⁹ sn The firstborn son typically had special status and received special privileges.

[110:5]  ³⁰ tn As pointed in the Hebrew text, this title refers to God (many medieval Hebrew mss read יְהוָה, yehveh, “Lord” here). The present translation assumes that the psalmist here addresses the Lord as he celebrates what the king is able to accomplish while positioned at God’s “right hand.” According to this view the king is the subject of the third person verb forms in vv. 5b-7. (2) Another option is to understand the king as the addressee (as in vv. 2-3). In this case “the Lord” is the subject of the third person verbs throughout vv. 5-7 and is depicted as a warrior in a very anthropomorphic manner. In this case the Lord is pictured as being at the psalmist’s right hand (just the opposite of v. 1). See Pss 16:8; 121:5. (3) A third option is to revocalize אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”) as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”; see v. 1). In this case one may translate, “My lord, at his [God’s] right hand, strikes down.” In this case the king is the subject of the third person verbs in vv. 5b-7.

[110:5]  ³¹ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 5-6 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing. Another option is to take them as rhetorical. In this case the psalmist describes anticipated events as if they had already taken place.

[110:5]  ³² tn Heb “in the day of his anger.”

[148:11]  ³³ tn Or “judges.”

[149:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

[149:2]  ³⁵ sn The Lord is the king here, as the parallelism in the previous line (“their creator”) indicates.