Psalms 68:1

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 

Psalms 1:4

1:4 Not so with the wicked!

Instead ⁵  they are like wind-driven chaff. ⁶ 

[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.”

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead,” cf. v. 2) introduces a contrast between the prosperity of the godly depicted in v. 3 and the destiny of the wicked described in v. 4.

[1:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “[they are] like the chaff which [the] wind blows about.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the typical nature of the action described.