2:1 Why 8 do the nations rebel? 9
Why 10 are the countries 11 devising 12 plots that will fail? 13
2:2 The kings of the earth 14 form a united front; 15
the rulers collaborate 16
against the Lord and his anointed king. 17
2:3 They say, 18 “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! 19
Let’s free ourselves from 20 their ropes!”
2:4 The one enthroned 21 in heaven laughs in disgust; 22
the Lord taunts 23 them.
2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them
and terrifies them in his rage, 24 saying, 25
2:6 “I myself 26 have installed 27 my king
on Zion, my holy hill.”
12:25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven?
1 tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).
2 tn Heb “to the
3 tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.
4 tn Heb “seeks.” The statement reflects the ancient belief that God (Baal in Canaanite thinking) directly controlled storms and rainfall.
5 tn Heb “the eyes of the
6 sn From the beginning to the end of the year. This refers to the agricultural year that was marked by the onset of the heavy rains, thus the autumn. See note on the phrase “the former and the latter rains” in v. 14.
7 sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.
8 tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.
9 tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.
10 tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
11 tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).
12 tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).
13 tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.
14 sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.
15 tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.
16 tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).
17 tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).
18 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.
19 tn Heb “their (i.e., the
20 tn Heb “throw off from us.”
21 tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).
22 tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
23 tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”
24 sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.
25 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).
26 tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”
27 tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”
28 tn Grk “to rule over them.”
29 tn This term, when used of people rather than animals, has some connotations of violence and mercilessness (L&N 20.72).
30 sn Slaughter them. To reject the king is to face certain judgment from him.
31 tn Grk “dies.”
32 sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.
33 tn Grk “tramples under foot.”
34 tn Grk “regarded as common.”
35 tn Grk “by which he was made holy.”