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Text -- Psalms 68:1-19 (NET)
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Context
Psalm 68
68:1 For the music director ; by David , a psalm , a song . God springs into action ! His enemies scatter ; his adversaries run from him.
68:2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away . As wax melts before fire , so the wicked are destroyed before God .
68:3 But the godly are happy ; they rejoice before God and are overcome with joy .
68:4 Sing to God ! Sing praises to his name ! Exalt the one who rides on the clouds ! For the Lord is his name ! Rejoice before him!
68:5 He is a father to the fatherless and an advocate for widows . God rules from his holy palace.
68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes ; he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity . But sinful rebels live in the desert .
68:7 O God , when you lead your people into battle, when you march through the desert , (Selah )
68:8 the earth shakes , yes , the heavens pour down rain before God, the God of Sinai , before God , the God of Israel .
68:9 O God , you cause abundant showers to fall on your chosen people . When they are tired , you sustain them,
68:10 for you live among them. You sustain the oppressed with your good blessings, O God .
68:11 The Lord speaks ; many, many women spread the good news .
68:12 Kings leading armies run away – they run away ! The lovely lady of the house divides up the loot .
68:13 When you lie down among the sheepfolds , the wings of the dove are covered with silver and with glittering gold .
68:14 When the sovereign judge scatters kings , let it snow on Zalmon !
68:15 The mountain of Bashan is a towering mountain ; the mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks .
68:16 Why do you look with envy , O mountains with many peaks , at the mountain where God has decided to live ? Indeed the Lord will live there permanently !
68:17 God has countless chariots ; they number in the thousands . The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor.
68:18 You ascend on high , you have taken many captives . You receive tribute from men , including even sinful rebels . Indeed the Lord God lives there!
68:19 The Lord deserves praise ! Day after day he carries our burden , the God who delivers us. (Selah )
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Psa 68:1; Psa 68:1; Psa 68:1; Psa 68:1; Psa 68:2; Psa 68:3; Psa 68:3; Psa 68:4; Psa 68:4; Psa 68:5; Psa 68:5; Psa 68:6; Psa 68:6; Psa 68:6; Psa 68:6; Psa 68:7; Psa 68:7; Psa 68:8; Psa 68:8; Psa 68:9; Psa 68:9; Psa 68:9; Psa 68:9; Psa 68:10; Psa 68:11; Psa 68:11; Psa 68:12; Psa 68:12; Psa 68:13; Psa 68:13; Psa 68:13; Psa 68:13; Psa 68:14; Psa 68:14; Psa 68:14; Psa 68:14; Psa 68:15; Psa 68:15; Psa 68:15; Psa 68:16; Psa 68:16; Psa 68:16; Psa 68:16; Psa 68:16; Psa 68:17; Psa 68:17; Psa 68:18; Psa 68:18; Psa 68:18; Psa 68:18; Psa 68:18; Psa 68:19; Psa 68:19
NET Notes: Psa 68:1 The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action, Lord! Then your enemies will be scattered and your adversaries will run...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:3 Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, ...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:4 Heb “in the Lord his name.” If the MT is retained, the preposition -בְ (bet) is introducing the predicate (the so-called bet o...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:5 Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.
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NET Notes: Psa 68:6 God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.
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NET Notes: Psa 68:7 When you march through the desert. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the des...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:8 The language of vv. 7-8 is reminiscent of Judg 5:4-5, which tells how the God of Sinai came in the storm and annihilated the Canaanite forces led by S...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:10 The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear; it appears to read, “your animals, they live in it,” but this makes little, if any, sense in th...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:11 Heb “the ones spreading the good news [are] a large army.” The participle translated “the ones spreading the good news” is a f...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:12 The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:13 The point of the imagery of v. 13 is not certain, though the reference to silver and gold appears to be positive. Both would be part of the loot carri...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:14 Zalmon was apparently a mountain in the region, perhaps the one mentioned in Judg 9:46 as being in the vicinity of Shechem.
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NET Notes: Psa 68:15 The meaning of the Hebrew term, which appears only here in the OT, is uncertain. HALOT 174 s.v. גַּבְנו...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:17 The MT reads, “the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness,” which is syntactically difficult. The present translation assumes an emendat...
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NET Notes: Psa 68:18 Heb “so that the Lord God might live [there].” Many take the infinitive construct with -לְ (lamed) as indicating purpose here,...
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