Psalms 18:47

18:47 The one true God ¹  completely vindicates me; ² 

he makes nations submit to me. ³ 

Psalms 33:10

33:10 The Lord frustrates ⁴  the decisions of the nations;

he nullifies the plans ⁵  of the peoples.

Psalms 47:3

47:3 He subdued nations beneath us ⁶ 

and countries ⁷  under our feet.

Psalms 87:6

87:6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, ⁸ 

“This one was born there.” ⁹  (Selah)

Psalms 96:7

96:7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,

ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!

Psalms 99:1

Psalm 99 ¹⁰ 

99:1 The Lord reigns!

The nations tremble. ¹¹ 

He sits enthroned above the winged angels; ¹² 

the earth shakes. ¹³ 

Psalms 102:22

102:22 when the nations gather together,

and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord. ¹⁴ 

[18:47]  ¹ tn Heb “the God.” See v. 32.

[18:47]  ² tn Heb “is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication.

[18:47]  ³ tn Heb “he subdues nations beneath me.” On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue,” a homonym of דָּבַר, davar, “speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 47:3 and 2 Chr 22:10. 2 Sam 22:48 reads “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”

[33:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “breaks” or “destroys.” The Hebrew perfect verbal forms here and in the next line generalize about the Lord’s activity.

[33:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “thoughts.”

[47:3]  ⁷ tn On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue”), a homonym of דָּבַר (“speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 18:47 and 2 Chr 22:10. The preterite form of the verb suggests this is an historical reference and the next verse, which mentions the gift of the land, indicates that the conquest under Joshua is in view.

[47:3]  ⁸ tn Or “peoples” (see Pss 2:1; 7:7; 9:8; 44:2).

[87:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord records in the writing of the nations.”

[87:6]  ¹¹ tn As noted in v. 4, the translation assumes a contrast between “there” (the various foreign lands) and “in her” (Zion). In contrast to foreigners, the citizens of Zion have special status because of their birthplace (v. 5). In this case vv. 4 and 6 form a structural frame around v. 5.

[99:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.

[99:1]  ¹⁴ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”

[99:1]  ¹⁵ sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.

[99:1]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).

[102:22]  ¹⁶ tn “and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.”