Text -- Psalms 24:1-4 (NET)

Psalm 24

24:1 A psalm of David. The Lord owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it. 24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas, and established it upon the ocean currents. 24:3 Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? 24:4 The one whose deeds are blameless and whose motives are pure, who does not lie, or make promises with no intention of keeping them.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 24:1

¹ sn Psalm 24. The psalmist affirms the universal kingship of the sovereign creator, reminds his people that only the morally pure are qualified to worship him, and celebrates his splendor as a mighty warrior king.

NET Notes: Psa 24:2

¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.

² sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.

NET Notes: Psa 24:3

¹ tn The imperfects in v. 3 are modal, expressing potential or permission.

² sn In this context the Lord’s mountain probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem (see Isa 2:2-3).

NET Notes: Psa 24:4

¹ tn Heb “the innocent of hands and the pure of heart.” The “hands” allude to one’s actions, the “heart” to one’s thought life and motives.

² tn Heb “who does not lift up for emptiness my life.” The first person pronoun on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy, “my life”) makes little sense here; many medieval Hebrew mss support the ancient versions in reading a third person pronoun “his.” The idiom “lift the life” here means to “long for” or “desire strongly.” In this context (note the reference to an oath in the following line) “emptiness” probably refers to speech (see Ps 12:2).

³ tn Heb “and does not swear an oath deceitfully.”