Psalms 60:1

Psalm 60 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ²  a prayer ³  of David written to instruct others. ⁴  It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down ⁵  12,000 Edomites ⁶  in the Valley of Salt. ⁷ 

60:1 O God, you have rejected us. ⁸ 

You suddenly turned on us in your anger. ⁹ 

Please restore us! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 47:1-9

Psalm 47 ¹¹ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; a psalm.

47:1 All you nations, clap your hands!

Shout out to God in celebration! ¹² 

47:2 For the sovereign Lord ¹³  is awe-inspiring; ¹⁴ 

he is the great king who rules the whole earth! ¹⁵ 

47:3 He subdued nations beneath us ¹⁶ 

and countries ¹⁷  under our feet.

47:4 He picked out for us a special land ¹⁸ 

to be a source of pride for ¹⁹  Jacob, ²⁰  whom he loves. ²¹  (Selah)

47:5 God has ascended his throne ²²  amid loud shouts; ²³ 

the Lord has ascended his throne amid the blaring of ram’s horns. ²⁴ 

47:6 Sing to God! Sing!

Sing to our king! Sing!

47:7 For God is king of the whole earth!

Sing a well-written song! ²⁵ 

47:8 God reigns ²⁶  over the nations!

God sits on his holy throne!

47:9 The nobles of the nations assemble,

along with the people of the God of Abraham, ²⁷ 

for God has authority over the rulers ²⁸  of the earth.

He is highly exalted! ²⁹ 

[60:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.

[60:1]  ² tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.

[60:1]  ³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[60:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “to teach.”

[60:1]  ⁵ tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.

[60:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).

[60:1]  ⁷ sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.

[60:1]  ⁸ sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.

[60:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”

[60:1]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[47:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 47. In this hymn the covenant community praises the Lord as the exalted king of the earth who has given them victory over the nations and a land in which to live.

[47:1]  ¹² tn Heb “Shout to God with [the] sound of a ringing cry!”

[47:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “the Lord Most High.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures the Lord as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked.

[47:2]  ²² tn Or “awesome.” The Niphal participle נוֹרָא (nora’), when used of God in the psalms, focuses on the effect that his royal splendor and powerful deeds have on those witnessing his acts (Pss 66:3, 5; 68:35; 76:7, 12; 89:7; 96:4; 99:3; 111:9). Here it refers to his capacity to fill his defeated foes with terror and his people with fearful respect.

[47:2]  ²³ tn Heb “a great king over all the earth.”

[47:3]  ³¹ tn On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue”), a homonym of דָּבַר (“speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 18:47 and 2 Chr 22:10. The preterite form of the verb suggests this is an historical reference and the next verse, which mentions the gift of the land, indicates that the conquest under Joshua is in view.

[47:3]  ³² tn Or “peoples” (see Pss 2:1; 7:7; 9:8; 44:2).

[47:4]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “he chose for us our inheritance.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite (see “subdued” in v. 3).

[47:4]  ⁴² tn Heb “the pride of.” The phrase is appositional to “our inheritance,” indicating that the land is here described as a source of pride to God’s people.

[47:4]  ⁴³ tn That is, Israel.

[47:4]  ⁴⁴ sn Jacob whom he loves. The Lord’s covenantal devotion to his people is in view.

[47:5]  ⁵¹ sn God ascended his throne. In the context of vv. 3-4, which refer to the conquest of the land under Joshua, v. 5 is best understood as referring to an historical event. When the Lord conquered the land and placed his people in it, he assumed a position of kingship, as predicted by Moses (see Exod 15:17-18, as well as Ps 114:1-2). That event is here described metaphorically in terms of a typical coronation ceremony for an earthly king (see 2 Sam 15:10; 2 Kgs 9:13). Verses 1-2, 8-9 focus on God’s continuing kingship, which extends over all nations.

[47:5]  ⁵² tn Heb “God ascended amid a shout.” The words “his throne” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord’s coronation as king is described here (see v. 8). Here the perfect probably has a present perfect function, indicating a completed action with continuing effects.

[47:5]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the Lord amid the sound of the ram horn.” The verb “ascended” is understood by ellipsis; see the preceding line.

[47:7]  ⁶¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term also occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142. Here, in a context of celebration, the meaning “skillful, well-written” would fit particularly well.

[47:8]  ⁷¹ tn When a new king was enthroned, his followers would acclaim him king using this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3ms מָלַךְ, malakh, “to reign,” followed by the name of the king). See 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13, as well as Isa 52:7. In this context the perfect verbal form is generalizing, but the declaration logically follows the historical reference in v. 5 to the Lord’s having ascended his throne.

[47:9]  ⁸¹ tc The words “along with” do not appear in the MT. However, the LXX has “with,” suggesting that the original text may have read עִם עַם (’im ’am, “along with the people”). In this case the MT is haplographic (the consonantal sequence ayin-mem [עם] being written once instead of twice). Another option is that the LXX is simply and correctly interpreting “people” as an adverbial accusative and supplying the appropriate preposition.

[47:9]  ⁸² tn Heb “for to God [belong] the shields of the earth.” Perhaps the rulers are called “shields” because they are responsible for protecting their people. See Ps 84:9, where the Davidic king is called “our shield,” and perhaps also Hos 4:18.

[47:9]  ⁸³ tn The verb עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.