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 35:28

35:28 Then I will tell others about your justice, ⁸ 

and praise you all day long. ⁹ 

Psalms 77:12

77:12 I will think about all you have done;

I will reflect upon your deeds!”

Psalms 37:30

37:30 The godly speak wise words

and promote justice. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 63:6

63:6 whenever ¹¹  I remember you on my bed,

and think about you during the nighttime hours.

Psalms 1:2

1:2 Instead ¹²  he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; ¹³ 

he meditates on ¹⁴  his commands ¹⁵  day and night.

Psalms 38:12

38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; ¹⁶ 

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

Psalms 71:24

71:24 All day long my tongue will also tell about your justice,

for those who want to harm me ¹⁷  will be embarrassed and ashamed. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 115:7

115:7 hands, but cannot touch,

feet, but cannot walk.

They cannot even clear their throats. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 143:5

143:5 I recall the old days; ²⁰ 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ²¹ 

[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.

[35:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “and my tongue will proclaim your justice.”

[35:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “all the day your praise.” The verb “proclaim” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the previous line).

[37:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “The mouth of the godly [one] utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.” The singular form is used in a representative sense; the typical godly individual is in view. The imperfect verbal forms draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the godly.

[63:6]  ²² tn The Hebrew term אִם (’im) is used here in the sense of “when; whenever,” as in Ps 78:34.

[1:2]  ²⁹ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead”) introduces a contrast between the sinful behavior depicted in v. 1 and the godly lifestyle described in v. 2.

[1:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “his delight [is] in the law of the Lord.” In light of the following line, which focuses on studying the Lord’s law, one might translate, “he finds pleasure in studying the Lord’s commands.” However, even if one translates the line this way, it is important to recognize that mere study and intellectual awareness are not ultimately what bring divine favor. Study of the law is metonymic here for the correct attitudes and behavior that should result from an awareness of and commitment to God’s moral will; thus “obeying” has been used in the translation rather than “studying.”

[1:2]  ³¹ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the characteristic behavior described here and lends support to the hyperbolic adverbial phrase “day and night.” The verb הָגָה (hagag) means “to recite quietly; to meditate” and refers metonymically to intense study and reflection.

[1:2]  ³² tn Or “his law.”

[38:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “lay snares.”

[71:24]  ⁴³ tn Heb “those who seek my harm.”

[71:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “will have become embarrassed and ashamed.” The perfect verbal forms function here as future perfects, indicating future actions which will precede chronologically the action expressed by the main verb in the preceding line.

[115:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).

[143:5]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”