68:21 Indeed God strikes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion. 1
68:22 The Lord says,
“I will retrieve them 2 from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
68:23 so that your feet may stomp 3 in their blood,
and your dogs may eat their portion of the enemies’ corpses.” 4
68:24 They 5 see your processions, O God –
the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor. 6
68:25 Singers walk in front;
musicians follow playing their stringed instruments, 7
in the midst of young women playing tambourines. 8
68:26 In your large assemblies praise God,
the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel! 9
68:27 There is little Benjamin, their ruler, 10
and the princes of Judah in their robes, 11
along with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
68:28 God has decreed that you will be powerful. 12
O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power,
1 tn Heb “the hairy forehead of the one who walks about in his guilt.” The singular is representative.
2 tn That is, the enemies mentioned in v. 21. Even if they retreat to distant regions, God will retrieve them and make them taste his judgment.
3 tc Some (e.g. NRSV) prefer to emend מָחַץ (makhats, “smash; stomp”; see v. 21) to רָחַץ (rakhats, “bathe”; see Ps 58:10).
4 tn Heb “[and] the tongue of your dogs from [the] enemies [may eat] its portion.”
4 tn The subject is probably indefinite, referring to bystanders in general who witness the procession.
5 tn The Hebrew text has simply “in holiness.” The words “who marches along” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “after [are] the stringed instrument players.”
6 sn To celebrate a military victory, women would play tambourines (see Exod 15:20; Judg 11:34; 1 Sam 18:6).
6 tn Heb “from the fountain of Israel,” which makes little, if any, sense here. The translation assumes an emendation to בְּמִקְרָאֵי (bÿmiqra’ey, “in the assemblies of [Israel]”).
7 sn Little Benjamin, their ruler. This may allude to the fact that Israel’s first king, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin.
8 tc The MT reads רִגְמָתָם (rigmatam), which many derive from רָגַם (ragam, “to kill by stoning”) and translates, “[in] their heaps,” that is, in large numbers.
8 tn Heb “God has commanded your strength.” The statement is apparently addressed to Israel (see v. 26).