Psalms 108:2-13

Context

108:2 Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!

I will wake up at dawn!¹

108:3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord!

I will sing praises to you before foreigners!²

108:4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,³

and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

108:5 Rise up⁴ above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth!⁵

108:6 Deliver by your power⁶ and answer me,

so that the ones you love may be safe.⁷

108:7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:⁸

“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem,

the valley of Succoth I will measure off.⁹

108:8 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh!¹⁰

Ephraim is my helmet,¹¹

Judah my royal scepter.¹²

108:9 Moab is my wash basin.¹³

I will make Edom serve me.¹⁴

I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”

108:10 Who will lead me into the fortified city?

Who will bring me to Edom?¹⁵

108:11 Have you not rejected us, O God?

O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

108:12 Give us help against the enemy,

for any help men might offer is futile.¹⁶

108:13 By God’s power we will conquer;¹⁷

he will trample down¹⁸ our enemies.

[108:2] ¹tn BDB 1007 s.v. שַׁחַר takes “dawn” as an adverbial accusative, though others understand it as a personified direct object. “Dawn” is used metaphorically for the time of deliverance and vindication the psalmist anticipates. When salvation “dawns,” the psalmist will “wake up” in praise.

[108:3] ²tn Or “the peoples.”

[108:4] ³tn Heb “for great upon the sky [or “heavens”] [is] your loyal love.”

[108:5] ⁴tn Or “be exalted.”

[108:5] ⁵tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[108:6] ⁶tn Heb “right hand.”

[108:6] ⁷tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[108:7] ⁸tn Heb “in his holy place.”

[108:7] ⁹sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan River; the valley of Succoth represents the region east of the Jordan.

[108:8] ¹⁰tn Gilead was located east of the Jordan River. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

[108:8] ¹¹tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

[108:8] ¹²sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan River. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.

[108:9] ¹³sn The metaphor of the wash basin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 7-8), would be reduced to the status of a servant.

[108:9] ¹⁴tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.

[108:10] ¹⁵sn The psalmist speaks again and acknowledges his need for help in battle. He hopes God will volunteer, based on the affirmation of sovereignty over Edom in v. 9, but he is also aware that God has seemingly rejected the nation of Israel (v. 11).

[108:12] ¹⁶tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”

[108:13] ¹⁷tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 118:16-16).

[108:13] ¹⁸sn On the expression trample down our enemies see Ps 44:5.