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 2:10

2:10 So now, you kings, do what is wise; ⁸ 

you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! ⁹ 

Psalms 7:7

7:7 The countries are assembled all around you; ¹⁰ 

take once more your rightful place over them! ¹¹ 

Psalms 21:13

21:13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength! ¹² 

We will sing and praise ¹³  your power!

Psalms 107:36

107:36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,

and they established a city in which to live.

Psalms 109:5

109:5 They repay me evil for good, ¹⁴ 

and hate for love.

Psalms 119:18

119:18 Open ¹⁵  my eyes so I can truly see ¹⁶ 

the marvelous things in your law!

Psalms 119:144

119:144 Your rules remain just. ¹⁷ 

Give me insight so that I can live. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 119:175

119:175 May I ¹⁹  live and praise you!

May your regulations help me! ²⁰ 

[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.

[2:10]  ⁸ sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.

[2:10]  ⁹ tn The Niphal has here a tolerative nuance; the kings are urged to submit themselves to the advice being offered.

[7:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the assembly of the peoples surrounds you.” Some understand the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may the assembly of the peoples surround you.”

[7:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “over it (the feminine suffix refers back to the feminine noun “assembly” in the preceding line) on high return.” Some emend שׁוּבָה (shuvah, “return”) to שֵׁבָה (shevah, “sit [in judgment]”) because they find the implication of “return” problematic. But the psalmist does not mean to imply that God has abandoned his royal throne and needs to regain it. Rather he simply urges God, as sovereign king of the world, to once more occupy his royal seat of judgment and execute judgment, as the OT pictures God doing periodically.

[21:13]  ²² tn Heb “in your strength,” but English idiom does not require the pronoun.

[21:13]  ²³ tn Heb “sing praise.”

[109:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”

[119:18]  ³⁶ tn Heb “uncover.” The verb form גַּל (gal) is an apocopated Piel imperative from גָּלָה (galah, see GKC 214 §75.cc).

[119:18]  ³⁷ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:144]  ⁴³ tn Heb “just are your rules forever.”

[119:144]  ⁴⁴ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:175]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “my life.”

[119:175]  ⁵¹ tn God’s regulations will “help” the psalmist by giving him moral and ethical guidance.