Psalms 67 
Discovery Box |
For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.
67:1 May God show us his favor 2 and bless us! 3
May he smile on us! 4 (Selah)
67:2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people. 5
67:3 Let the nations thank you, O God!
Let all the nations thank you! 6
67:4 Let foreigners 7 rejoice and celebrate!
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth. 8 (Selah)
67:5 Let the nations thank you, O God!
Let all the nations thank you! 9
67:6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us!
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves. 11
[67:1] 1 sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.
[67:1] 2 tn Or “have mercy on us.”
[67:1] 3 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.
[67:1] 4 tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”
[67:2] 5 tn Heb “to know in the earth your way, among all nations your deliverance.” The infinitive with -לְ (lamed) expresses purpose/result. When God demonstrates his favor to his people, all nations will recognize his character as a God who delivers. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) refers here to God’s characteristic behavior, more specifically, to the way he typically saves his people.
[67:3] 6 tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in vv. 3-4a are understood as jussives in this call to praise.
[67:4] 8 tn Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).
[67:5] 9 tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 5 are understood as jussives in this call to praise.
[67:7] 10 tn The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b-7a are understood as jussives.
[67:7] 11 tn Heb “will fear him.” After the jussive of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive is understood as indicating purpose/result. (Note how v. 3 anticipates the universal impact of God showing his people blessing.) Another option is to take the verb as a jussive and translate, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”
