Psalms 24:7-10

Context

24:7 Look up,¹ you gates!

Rise up,² you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king³ will enter!⁴

24:8 Who is this majestic king?⁵

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!⁶

He is the majestic king! (Selah)

[24:7] ¹tn 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] ²tn Heb “lift yourselves up.”

[24:7] ³tn Or “king of glory.”

[24:7] ⁴tn Following the imperatives of the preceding lines, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

[24:8] ⁵sn Who is this majestic king? Perhaps the personified gates/doors ask this question, in response to the command given in v. 7.

[24:10] ⁶tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts,” a title which here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle.