Psalms 132:6-18

132:6 Look, we heard about it ¹  in Ephrathah, ² 

we found it in the territory of Jaar. ³ 

132:7 Let us go to his dwelling place!

Let us worship ⁴  before his footstool!

132:8 Ascend, O Lord, to your resting place,

you and the ark of your strength!

132:9 May your priests be clothed with integrity! ⁵ 

May your loyal followers shout for joy!

132:10 For the sake of David, your servant,

do not reject your chosen king! ⁶ 

132:11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; ⁷ 

he will not go back on his word. ⁸ 

He said, ⁹  “I will place one of your descendants ¹⁰  on your throne.

132:12 If your sons keep my covenant

and the rules I teach them,

their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”

132:13 Certainly ¹¹  the Lord has chosen Zion;

he decided to make it his home. ¹² 

132:14 He said, ¹³  “This will be my resting place forever;

I will live here, for I have chosen it. ¹⁴ 

132:15 I will abundantly supply what she needs; ¹⁵ 

I will give her poor all the food they need. ¹⁶ 

132:16 I will protect her priests, ¹⁷ 

and her godly people will shout exuberantly. ¹⁸ 

132:17 There I will make David strong; ¹⁹ 

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ²⁰ 

132:18 I will humiliate his enemies, ²¹ 

and his crown will shine.

[132:6]  ¹ tn Rather than having an antecedent, the third feminine singular pronominal suffix here (and in the next line) appears to refer to the ark of the covenant, mentioned in v. 8. (The Hebrew term אָרוֹן [’aron, “ark”] is sometimes construed as grammatically feminine. See 1 Sam 4:17; 2 Chr 8:11.)

[132:6]  ² sn Some understand Ephrathah as a reference to Kiriath-jearim because of the apparent allusion to this site in the next line (see the note on “Jaar”). The ark was kept in Kiriath-jearim after the Philistines released it (see 1 Sam 6:21-7:2). However, the switch in verbs from “heard about” to “found” suggests that Ephrathah not be equated with Jair. The group who is speaking heard about the ark while they were in Ephrath. They then went to retrieve it from Kiriath-jearim (“Jaar”). It is more likely that Ephrathah refers to a site near Bethel (Gen 35:16, 19; 48:7) or to Bethlehem (Ruth 4:11; Mic 5:2).

[132:6]  ³ tn Heb “fields of the forest.” The Hebrew term יָעַר (ya’ad, “forest”) is apparently a shortened alternative name for קִרְיַת יְעָרִים (qiryat yÿ’arim, “Kiriath-jearim”), the place where the ark was kept after it was released by the Philistines and from which David and his men retrieved it (see 1 Chr 13:6).

[132:7]  ⁴ tn Or “bow down.”

[132:9]  ⁵ tn Or “righteousness.”

[132:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”

[132:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord swore an oath to David [in] truth.”

[132:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “he will not turn back from it.”

[132:11]  ⁹ tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the fruit of your body.”

[132:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[132:13]  ¹² tn Heb “he desired it for his dwelling place.”

[132:14]  ¹³ tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for I desired it.”

[132:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will greatly bless her provision.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.

[132:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “her poor I will satisfy [with] food.”

[132:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and her priests I will clothe [with] deliverance.”

[132:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[with] shouting they will shout.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.

[132:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.

[132:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).

[132:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “his enemies I will clothe [with] shame.”