Psalms 24:1-10

Context

Psalm 24¹

A psalm of David.

24:1 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,

the world and all who live in it.

24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,

and established² it upon the ocean currents.³

24:3 Who is allowed to ascend⁴ the mountain of the Lord?⁵

Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?

24:4 The one whose deeds are blameless

and whose motives are pure,⁶

who does not lie,⁷

or make promises with no intention of keeping them.⁸

24:5 Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord,⁹

and vindicated by the God who delivers them.¹⁰

24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,

Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him.¹¹ (Selah)

24:7 Look up,¹² you gates!

Rise up,¹³ you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king¹⁴ will enter!¹⁵

24:8 Who is this majestic king?¹⁶

The Lord who is strong and mighty!

The Lord who is mighty in battle!

24:9 Look up, you gates!

Rise up, you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king will enter!

24:10 Who is this majestic king?

The Lord who commands armies!¹⁷

He is the majestic king! (Selah)

[24:1] ¹sn Psalm 24. The psalmist affirms the universal kingship of the sovereign creator, reminds his people that only the morally pure are qualified to worship him, and celebrates his splendor as a mighty warrior king.

[24:2] ²tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.

[24:2] ³sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.

[24:3] ⁴tn The imperfects in v. 3 are modal, expressing potential or permission.

[24:3] ⁵sn In this context the Lord’s mountain probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem (see Isa 2:2-3).

[24:4] ⁶tn Heb “the innocent of hands and the pure of heart.” The “hands” allude to one’s actions, the “heart” to one’s thought life and motives.

[24:4] ⁷tn Heb “who does not lift up for emptiness my life.” The first person pronoun on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy, “my life”) makes little sense here; many medieval Hebrew mss support the ancient versions in reading a third person pronoun “his.” The idiom “lift the life” here means to “long for” or “desire strongly.” In this context (note the reference to an oath in the following line) “emptiness” probably refers to speech (see Ps 12:2).

[24:4] ⁸tn Heb “and does not swear an oath deceitfully.”

[24:5] ⁹tn Heb “he (the righteous individual described in v. 4) lifts up a blessing from the Lord.” The singular subject is representative here, as v. 6 makes clear. The referent (godly people like the individual in v. 4) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The imperfect verbal form is generalizing; such people are typically rewarded for their deeds.

[24:5] ¹⁰tn “and vindication from the God of his deliverance.”

[24:6] ¹¹tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 27:8; 105:4).

[24:7] ¹²tn Heb “lift up your heads.” The gates of the Lord’s dwelling place are here personified. The idiom “lift up the head” often means “be confident, bold” (see Judg 8:28; Job 10:15; Ps 83:2; Zech 1:21).

[24:7] ¹³tn Heb “lift yourselves up.”

[24:7] ¹⁴tn Or “king of glory.”

[24:7] ¹⁵tn Following the imperatives of the preceding lines, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

[24:8] ¹⁶sn Who is this majestic king? Perhaps the personified gates/doors ask this question, in response to the command given in v. 7.

[24:10] ¹⁷tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts,” a title which here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle.