96:7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!
96:8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves! 1
Bring an offering and enter his courts!
96:9 Worship the Lord in holy attire! 2
Tremble before him, all the earth!
96:10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established, it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
96:11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy!
Let the sea and everything in it shout!
96:12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!
For he comes to judge the earth!
He judges the world fairly, 3
and the nations in accordance with his justice. 4
1 tn Heb “the splendor of [i.e., “due”] his name.”
2 tn Or “in holy splendor.”
3 tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”
4 tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”