Psalms 2:2-9

2:2 The kings of the earth ¹  form a united front; ² 

the rulers collaborate ³ 

against the Lord and his anointed king. ⁴ 

2:3 They say, ⁵  “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! ⁶ 

Let’s free ourselves from ⁷  their ropes!”

2:4 The one enthroned ⁸  in heaven laughs in disgust; ⁹ 

the Lord taunts ¹⁰  them.

2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them

and terrifies them in his rage, ¹¹  saying, ¹² 

2:6 “I myself ¹³  have installed ¹⁴  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

2:7 The king says, ¹⁵  “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ¹⁶ 

‘You are my son! ¹⁷  This very day I have become your father!

2:8 Ask me,

and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, ¹⁸ 

the ends of the earth as your personal property.

2:9 You will break them ¹⁹  with an iron scepter; ²⁰ 

you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” ²¹ 

[2:2]  ¹ sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.

[2:2]  ² tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.

[2:2]  ³ tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).

[2:3]  ⁵ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “their (i.e., the Lord’s and the king’s) shackles.” The kings compare the rule of the Lord and his vice-regent to being imprisoned.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “throw off from us.”

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).

[2:4]  ⁹ tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”

[2:5]  ¹¹ sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.

[2:5]  ¹² tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).

[2:6]  ¹³ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[2:7]  ¹⁵ tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.

[2:7]  ¹⁶ tn Or “I will relate the decree. The Lord said to me” (in accordance with the Masoretic accentuation).

[2:7]  ¹⁷ sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[2:8]  ¹⁸ sn I will give you the nations. The Lord promises the Davidic king universal dominion.

[2:9]  ¹⁹ tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.

[2:9]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.

[2:9]  ²¹ sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.