Psalms 2:1

Psalm 2 ¹ 

2:1 Why ²  do the nations rebel? ³ 

Why ⁴  are the countries ⁵  devising ⁶  plots that will fail? ⁷ 

Psalms 18:49

18:49 So I will give you thanks before the nations, ⁸  O Lord!

I will sing praises to you! ⁹ 

Psalms 22:22-23

22:22 I will declare your name to my countrymen! ¹⁰ 

In the middle of the assembly I will praise you!

22:23 You loyal followers of the Lord, ¹¹  praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him! ¹² 

Psalms 96:3

96:3 Tell the nations about his splendor!

Tell ¹³  all the nations about his amazing deeds!

Psalms 138:1

Psalm 138 ¹⁴ 

By David.

138:1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;

before the heavenly assembly ¹⁵  I will sing praises to you.

Psalms 138:4-5

138:4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks ¹⁶  to you, O Lord,

when they hear the words you speak. ¹⁷ 

138:5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds, ¹⁸ 

for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 145:10-12

145:10 All he has made will give thanks to the Lord.

Your loyal followers will praise you.

145:11 They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;

they will tell about your power,

145:12 so that mankind ²⁰  might acknowledge your mighty acts,

and the majestic splendor of your kingdom.

Romans 15:9

15:9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. ²¹  As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.” ²² 

[2:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.

[2:1]  ² tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.

[2:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.

[2:1]  ⁴ tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).

[2:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.

[18:49]  ⁸ sn I will give you thanks before the nations. This probably alludes to the fact that the psalmist will praise the Lord in the presence of the defeated nations when they, as his subjects, bring their tribute payments. Ideally the Davidic king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness. See J. H. Eaton, Kingship and the Psalms (SBT), 182-85.

[18:49]  ⁹ tn Heb “to your name.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “Lord,” the primary name of Israel’s covenant God which suggests his active presence with his people (see Exod 3:12-15).

[22:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “brothers,” but here the term does not carry a literal familial sense. It refers to the psalmist’s fellow members of the Israelite covenant community (see v. 23).

[22:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[you] fearers of the Lord.” See Ps 15:4.

[22:23]  ¹² tn Heb “fear him.”

[96:3]  ¹³ tn The verb “tell” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[138:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 138. The psalmist vows to thank the Lord for his deliverance and protection.

[138:1]  ¹⁵ tn The referent of the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is unclear. It refers either to the angelic assembly (see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5) or to the pagan gods (see Pss 82:1, 6; 86:8; 97:7), in which case the psalmist’s praise takes on a polemical tone.

[138:4]  ¹⁶ tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in the following verse are understood as jussives, for the psalmist appears to be calling upon the kings to praise God. Another option is to take them as imperfects and translate, “the kings of the earth will give thanks…and will sing.” In this case the psalmist anticipates a universal response to his thanksgiving song.

[138:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the words of your mouth.”

[138:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “ways.”

[138:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “great.”

[145:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[15:9]  ²¹ tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.

[15:9]  ²² sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.