Psalms 60:6-8

60:6 God has spoken in his sanctuary: ¹ 

“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem;

the Valley of Succoth I will measure off. ² 

60:7 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh! ³ 

Ephraim is my helmet, ⁴ 

Judah my royal scepter. ⁵ 

60:8 Moab is my washbasin. ⁶ 

I will make Edom serve me. ⁷ 

I will shout in triumph over Philistia.” ⁸ 

[60:6]  ¹ tn Heb “in his holy place.”

[60:6]  ² sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan, the Valley of Succoth for the region east of the Jordan.

[60:7]  ³ sn Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

[60:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

[60:7]  ⁵ sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.

[60:8]  ⁶ sn The metaphor of the washbasin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 6-7), would be reduced to the status of a servant.

[60:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of,” i.e., “I will take possession of Edom.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.

[60:8]  ⁸ tc Heb “over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph.” The translation follows the text of Ps 108:9. When the initial עֲלֵיוֹ (’aleyo, “over”) was misread as עָלַי (’alay, “over me”), the first person verb form was probably altered to an imperative to provide better sense to the line.