Psalms 66:7

66:7 He rules ¹  by his power forever;

he watches ²  the nations.

Stubborn rebels should not exalt ³  themselves. (Selah)

Psalms 68:6

68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; ⁴ 

he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. ⁵ 

But sinful rebels live in the desert. ⁶ 

Psalms 68:18

68:18 You ascend on high, ⁷ 

you have taken many captives. ⁸ 

You receive tribute ⁹  from ¹⁰  men,

including even sinful rebels.

Indeed the Lord God lives there! ¹¹ 

Psalms 78:8

78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,

who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation that was not committed

and faithful to God. ¹² 

[66:7]  ¹ tn Heb “[the] one who rules.”

[66:7]  ² tn Heb “his eyes watch.” “Eyes” are an anthropomorphism, attributed to God here to emphasize his awareness of all that happens on earth.

[66:7]  ³ tn The verb form is jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al). The Kethib (consonantal text) has a Hiphil form of the verb, apparently to be understood in an exhibitive sense (“demonstrate stubborn rebellion”; see BDB 927 s.v. רוּם Hiph), while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Qal form, to be understood in an intransitive sense. The preposition -לְ (lamed) with pronominal suffix should be understood in a reflexive sense (“for themselves”) and indicates that the action is performed with the interest of the subject in mind.

[68:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

[68:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

[68:6]  ⁶ tn Or “in a parched [land].”

[68:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the elevated place”; or “on high.” This probably refers to the Lord’s throne on Mount Zion.

[68:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “you have taken captives captive.”

[68:18]  ⁹ tn Or “gifts.”

[68:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “among.”

[68:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so that the Lord God might live [there].” Many take the infinitive construct with -לְ (lamed) as indicating purpose here, but it is unclear how the offering of tribute enables the Lord to live in Zion. This may be an occurrence of the relatively rare emphatic lamed (see HALOT 510-11 s.v. II לְ, though this text is not listed as an example there). If so, the statement corresponds nicely to the final line of v. 16, which also affirms emphatically that the Lord lives in Zion.

[78:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).