Psalms 65:7-13

Context

65:7 You calm the raging seas¹

and their roaring waves,

as well as the commotion made by the nations.²

65:8 Even those living in the most remote areas are awestruck by your acts;³

you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.⁴

65:9 You visit the earth and give it rain;⁵

you make it rich and fertile⁶

with overflowing streams full of water.⁷

You provide grain for them,⁸

for you prepare the earth to yield its crops.⁹

65:10 You saturate¹⁰ its furrows,

and soak¹¹ its plowed ground.¹²

With rain showers you soften its soil,¹³

and make its crops grow.¹⁴

65:11 You crown the year with your good blessings,¹⁵

and you leave abundance in your wake.¹⁶

65:12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,¹⁷

and the hills are clothed with joy.¹⁸

65:13 The meadows are clothed with sheep,

and the valleys are covered with grain.

They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.

[65:7] ¹tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”

[65:7] ²sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).

[65:8] ³tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the ends fear because of your signs.” God’s “signs” are the “awesome acts” (see v. 5) he performs in the earth.

[65:8] ⁴tn Heb “the goings out of the morning and the evening you cause to shout for joy.” The phrase “goings out of the morning and evening” refers to the sunrise and sunset, that is, the east and the west.

[65:9] ⁵tn The verb form is a Polel from שׁוּק (shuq, “be abundant”), a verb which appears only here and in Joel 2:24 and 3:13, where it is used in the Hiphil stem and means “overflow.”

[65:9] ⁶tn Heb “you greatly enrich it.”

[65:9] ⁷tn Heb “[with] a channel of God full of water.” The divine name is probably used here in a superlative sense to depict a very deep stream (“a stream fit for God,” as it were).

[65:9] ⁸tn The pronoun apparently refers to the people of the earth, mentioned in v. 8.

[65:9] ⁹tn Heb “for thus [referring to the provision of rain described in the first half of the verse] you prepare it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix attached to the verb “prepare” refers back to the “earth,” which is a feminine noun with regard to grammatical form.

[65:10] ¹⁰tn Heb “saturating” [the form is an infinitive absolute].

[65:10] ¹¹tn Heb “flatten, cause to sink.”

[65:10] ¹²tn Heb “trenches,” or “furrows.”

[65:10] ¹³tn Heb “soften it,” that is, the earth.

[65:10] ¹⁴tn Heb “its vegetation you bless.” Divine “blessing” often involves endowing an object with special power or capacity.

[65:11] ¹⁵tn Heb “your good,” which refers here to agricultural blessings.

[65:11] ¹⁶tn Heb “and your paths drip with abundance.”

[65:12] ¹⁷tn Heb “drip.”

[65:12] ¹⁸tn That is, with rich vegetation that brings joy to those who see it.