Psalms 68:18-20

Context

68:18 You ascend on high,¹

you have taken many captives.²

You receive tribute³ from⁴ men,

including even sinful rebels.

Indeed the Lord God lives there!⁵

68:19 The Lord deserves praise!⁶

Day after day⁷ he carries our burden,

the God who delivers us. (Selah)

68:20 Our God is a God who delivers;

the Lord, the sovereign Lord, can rescue from death.⁸

[68:18] ¹tn Heb “to the elevated place”; or “on high.” This probably refers to the Lord’s throne on Mount Zion.

[68:18] ²tn Heb “you have taken captives captive.”

[68:18] ³tn Or “gifts.”

[68:18] ⁴tn Or “among.”

[68:18] ⁵tn 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.

[68:19] ⁶tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”

[68:19] ⁷tn It is possible to take this phrase with what precedes (“The Lord deserves praise day after day”) rather than with what follows.

[68:20] ⁸tn Heb “and to the Lord, the Lord, to death, goings out.”