Psalms 2:11

2:11 Serve ¹  the Lord in fear!

Repent in terror! ² 

Psalms 22:30

22:30 A whole generation ³  will serve him;

they will tell the next generation about the sovereign Lord. ⁴ 

Psalms 106:36

106:36 They worshiped ⁵  their idols,

which became a snare to them. ⁶ 

Psalms 72:11

72:11 All kings will bow down to him;

all nations will serve him.

Psalms 100:2

100:2 Worship ⁷  the Lord with joy!

Enter his presence with joyful singing!

Psalms 102:22

102:22 when the nations gather together,

and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord. ⁸ 

Psalms 18:43

18:43 You rescue me from a hostile army; ⁹ 

you make me ¹⁰  a leader of nations;

people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. ¹¹ 

Psalms 97:7

97:7 All who worship idols are ashamed,

those who boast about worthless idols.

All the gods bow down before him. ¹² 

[2:11]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “serve” refers here to submitting to the Lord’s sovereignty as expressed through the rule of the Davidic king. Such “service” would involve maintaining allegiance to the Davidic king by paying tribute on a regular basis.

[2:11]  ² tn Traditionally, “rejoice with trembling” (KJV). The verb גִּיל (gil) normally means “rejoice,” but this meaning does not fit well here in conjunction with “in trembling.” Some try to understand “trembling” (and the parallel יִרְאָה, yir’ah, “fear”) in the sense of “reverential awe” and then take the verbs “serve” and “rejoice” in the sense of “worship” (cf. NASB). But רְעָדָה (rÿ’adah, “trembling”) and its related terms consistently refer to utter terror and fear (see Exod 15:15; Job 4:14; Pss 48:6; 55:5; 104:32; Isa 33:14; Dan 10:11) or at least great emotional distress (Ezra 10:9). It seems more likely here that גִּיל carries its polarized meaning “mourn, lament,” as in Hos 10:5. “Mourn, lament” would then be metonymic in this context for “repent” (referring to one’s rebellious ways). On the meaning of the verb in Hos 10:5, see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea (AB), 556-57.

[22:30]  ³ tn Heb “offspring.”

[22:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “it will be told concerning the Lord to the generation.” The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[106:36]  ⁵ tn Or “served.”

[106:36]  ⁶ sn Became a snare. See Exod 23:33; Judg 2:3.

[100:2]  ⁷ tn Or “serve.”

[102:22]  ⁹ tn “and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.”

[18:43]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the strivings of a people.” In this context the Hebrew term רִיב (riv, “striving”) probably has a militaristic sense (as in Judg 12:2; Isa 41:11), and עָם (’am, “people”) probably refers more specifically to an army (for other examples, see the verses listed in BDB 766 s.v. I עַם, עָם 2.d). Some understand the phrase as referring to attacks by the psalmist’s own countrymen, the “nation” being Israel. However, foreign enemies appear to be in view; note the reference to “nations” in the following line.

[18:43]  ¹² tn 2 Sam 22:44 reads, “you keep me.”

[18:43]  ¹³ tn Heb “a people whom I did not know serve me.” In this context “know” (יָדַע, yada’) probably refers to formal recognition by treaty. People who were once not under the psalmist’s authority now willingly submit to his rulership to avoid being conquered militarily (see vv. 44-45). The language may recall the events recorded in 2 Sam 8:9-10 and 10:19.

[97:7]  ¹³ tn The translation assumes that the prefixed verbal form in the first line is an imperfect (“are ashamed”) and that the ambiguous form in the third line is a perfect (“bow down”) because the psalmist appears to be describing the effect of the Lord’s mighty theophany on those who witness it (see vv. 5, 8). Another option is to take the prefixed form in the first line as a jussive (“let all who worship idols be ashamed”) and the ambiguous form in the third line as an imperative (“All you gods, bow down before him!”; cf. NIV).