Psalms 67:1-2

Psalm 67 ¹ 

For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.

67:1 May God show us his favor ²  and bless us! ³ 

May he smile on us! ⁴  (Selah)

67:2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;

all nations will know how you deliver your people. ⁵ 

[67:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.

[67:1]  ² tn Or “have mercy on us.”

[67:1]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.

[67:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”

[67:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “to know in the earth your way, among all nations your deliverance.” The infinitive with -לְ (lamed) expresses purpose/result. When God demonstrates his favor to his people, all nations will recognize his character as a God who delivers. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) refers here to God’s characteristic behavior, more specifically, to the way he typically saves his people.