68:31 They come with red cloth 1 from Egypt,
Ethiopia 2 voluntarily offers tribute 3 to God.
For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.
68:1 God springs into action! 5
His enemies scatter;
his adversaries 6 run from him. 7
17:8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye! 8
Hide me in the shadow of your wings! 9
17:2 Make a just decision on my behalf! 10
Decide what is right! 11
For the music director; a psalm of David.
21:1 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give; 13
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. 14
19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; 15
Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?” 16
19:23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 17 19:24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing 18 in the earth. 19 19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, 20 “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, 21 Israel!”
“‘Your heart is proud 23 and you said, “I am a god; 24
I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” –
yet you are a man and not a god,
though you think you are godlike. 25
1 tn This noun, which occurs only here in the OT, apparently means “red cloth” or “bronze articles” (see HALOT 362 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NEB “tribute”). Traditionally the word has been taken to refer to “nobles” (see BDB 365 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NIV “envoys”). Another option would be to emend the text to הַשְׁמַנִּים (hashmannim, “the robust ones,” i.e., leaders).
2 tn Heb “Cush.”
3 tn Heb “causes its hands to run,” which must mean “quickly stretches out its hands” (to present tribute).
4 sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.
5 tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.
6 tn Heb “those who hate him.”
7 sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action,
8 tc Heb “Protect me like the pupil, a daughter of an eye.” The noun בַּת (bat, “daughter”) should probably be emended to בָּבַת (bavat, “pupil”). See Zech 2:12 HT (2:8 ET) and HALOT 107 s.v. *בָּבָה.
9 sn Your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.
10 tn Heb “From before you may my justice come out.” The prefixed verbal form יָצָא (yatsa’) could be taken as an imperfect, but following the imperatives in v. 1, it is better understood as a jussive of prayer.
11 tn Heb “May your eyes look at what is right.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as jussive. (See also the preceding note on the word “behalf.”)
12 sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.
13 tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).
14 tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”
15 tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”
16 tn Heb “A son of wise men am I, a son of ancient kings.” The term בֶּן (ben, “son of”) could refer to literal descent, but many understand the word, at least in the first line, in its idiomatic sense of “member [of a guild].” See HALOT 138 s.v. בֶּן and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:371. If this is the case, then one can take the word in a figurative sense in the second line as well, the “son of ancient kings” being one devoted to their memory as preserved in their literature.
17 tn The text could be translated, “and Egypt will serve Assyria” (cf. NAB), but subjugation of one nation to the other does not seem to be a theme in vv. 23-25. Rather the nations are viewed as equals before the Lord (v. 25). Therefore it is better to take אֶת (’et) in v. 23b as a preposition, “together with,” rather than the accusative sign. The names of the two countries are understood to refer by metonymy to their respective inhabitants.
18 tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).
19 tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).
20 tn Heb “which the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will bless [it], saying.” The third masculine singular suffix on the form בֵּרֲכוֹ (berakho) should probably be emended to a third feminine singular suffix בֵּרֲכָהּ (berakhah), for its antecedent would appear to be the feminine noun אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) at the end of v. 24.
21 tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
22 tn Or “ruler” (NIV, NCV).
23 tn Heb “lifted up.”
24 tn Or “I am divine.”
25 tn Heb “and you made your heart (mind) like the heart (mind) of gods.”