Psalms 68:1-3

Psalm 68 ¹ 

For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.

68:1 God springs into action! ² 

His enemies scatter;

his adversaries ³  run from him. ⁴ 

68:2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. ⁵ 

As wax melts before fire,

so the wicked are destroyed before God.

68:3 But the godly ⁶  are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy. ⁷ 

[68:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.

[68:1]  ² tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.

[68:1]  ³ tn Heb “those who hate him.”

[68:1]  ⁴ sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action, Lord! Then your enemies will be scattered and your adversaries will run from you.”

[68:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “as smoke is scattered, you scatter [them].”

[68:3]  ⁶ tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

[68:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)