Psalms 72:7-9

72:7 During his days the godly will flourish;

peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky.

72:8 May he rule from sea to sea,

and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth!

72:9 Before him the coastlands will bow down,

and his enemies will lick the dust.

Psalms 110:2-3

110:2 The Lord extends your dominion 10  from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

110:3 Your people willingly follow you 11  when you go into battle. 12 

On the holy hills 13  at sunrise 14  the dew of your youth 15  belongs to you. 16 

Genesis 49:10

49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, 17 

until he comes to whom it belongs; 18 

the nations will obey him. 19 

Isaiah 11:10

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

11:10 At that time 20  a root from Jesse 21  will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, 22  and his residence will be majestic.

Isaiah 60:4-5

60:4 Look all around you! 23 

They all gather and come to you –

your sons come from far away

and your daughters are escorted by guardians.

60:5 Then you will look and smile, 24 

you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. 25 

For the riches of distant lands 26  will belong to you

and the wealth of nations will come to you.

Isaiah 66:19-20

66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them 27  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, 28  Lud 29  (known for its archers 30 ), Tubal, Javan, 31  and to the distant coastlands 32  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor. 66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen 33  from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them 34  on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels 35  to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers.

Romans 11:25

11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, 36  so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel 37  until the full number 38  of the Gentiles has come in.


tn Heb “sprout up,” like crops. This verse continues the metaphor of rain utilized in v. 6.

tn Heb “and [there will be an] abundance of peace until there is no more moon.”

tn The prefixed verbal form is a (shortened) jussive form, indicating this is a prayer of blessing.

sn From sea to sea. This may mean from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. See Amos 8:12. The language of this and the following line also appears in Zech 9:10.

tn Heb “the river,” a reference to the Euphrates.

tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.

sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.

tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.

tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.

10 tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.

11 tn Heb “your people, free will offerings.” Perhaps the people, in their willingness to volunteer, are compared metaphorically to freewill offerings. Following the LXX, some revocalize the text and read “with you is nobility.”

12 tn Heb “in the day of your power.”

13 tc Heb “in splendor of holiness.” The plural construct form הַדְרֵי (hadrey, from הָדַר, hadar, “splendor”) occurs only here; it may indicate degree or perhaps refer by metonymy to garments (see Pss 29:2 and 96:9, where the phrase הַדְרַת קֹדֶשׁ [hadrat qodesh] refers to “holy attire”). If one retains the reading of the MT, this phrase should probably be taken with the preceding line. However, because of the subsequent references to “dawn” and to “dew,” it is better to emend the text to הַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ (harrey qodesh, “mountains of holiness”), a reading found in many medieval Hebrew mss and in some other ancient witnesses (see Joel 2:2; Ps 133:3, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 80). The “mountains of holiness” are probably the hills surrounding Zion (see Ps 87:1; 125:2; 133:3).

14 tn Heb “from the womb of dawn.” The Hebrew noun רֶחֶם (rekhem, “womb”) is probably used here metonymically for “birth.” The form מִשְׁחָר (mishkhar) occurs only here and should be emended to שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”) with the mem (מ) being understood as dittographic (note the final mem [ם] on the preceding word). The phrase “womb [i.e., “birth”] of dawn” refers to sunrise.

15 sn The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. The dew may symbolize the king’s youthful vitality or, more likely (note the parallelism), may refer to his army of strong, youthful warriors.

16 tn Heb “to you [is].”

17 tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.

18 tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.

19 tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.

20 tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

21 sn See the note at v. 1.

22 tn Heb “ a root from Jesse, which stands for a signal flag of the nations, of him nations will inquire” [or “seek”].

23 tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see!”

24 tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

25 tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”

26 tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.

27 tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

28 tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

29 sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

30 tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

31 sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

32 tn Or “islands” (NIV).

33 tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”

34 tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

35 tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.

36 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

37 tn Or “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”

38 tn Grk “fullness.”