Psalms 21:1-3

Psalm 21 ¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

21:1 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give; ² 

he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. ³ 

21:2 You grant ⁴  him his heart’s desire;

you do not refuse his request. ⁵  (Selah)

21:3 For you bring him ⁶  rich ⁷  blessings; ⁸ 

you place a golden crown on his head.

Hebrews 12:2

12:2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. ⁹ 

[21:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.

[21:1]  ² tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).

[21:1]  ³ tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”

[21:2]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes the perfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing, stating factually what God typically does for the king. Another option is to take them as present perfects, “you have granted…you have not refused.” See v. 4, which mentions a specific request for a long reign.

[21:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the request of his lips you do not refuse.”

[21:3]  ⁶ tn Or “meet him [with].”

[21:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “good.”

[21:3]  ⁸ sn You bring him rich blessings. The following context indicates that God’s “blessings” include deliverance/protection, vindication, sustained life, and a long, stable reign (see also Pss 3:8; 24:5).

[12:2]  ⁹ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.