Psalms 72:1-10

Psalm 72 ¹ 

For ²  Solomon.

72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ³ 

Grant the king’s son ⁴  the ability to make fair decisions! ⁵ 

72:2 Then he will judge ⁶  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ⁷  equitably.

72:3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,

and the hills will announce justice. ⁸ 

72:4 He will defend ⁹  the oppressed among the people;

he will deliver ¹⁰  the children ¹¹  of the poor

and crush the oppressor.

72:5 People will fear ¹²  you ¹³  as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky,

for generation after generation. ¹⁴ 

72:6 He ¹⁵  will descend like rain on the mown grass, ¹⁶ 

like showers that drench ¹⁷  the earth. ¹⁸ 

72:7 During his days the godly will flourish; ¹⁹ 

peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky. ²⁰ 

72:8 May he rule ²¹  from sea to sea, ²² 

and from the Euphrates River ²³  to the ends of the earth!

72:9 Before him the coastlands ²⁴  will bow down,

and his enemies will lick the dust. ²⁵ 

72:10 The kings of Tarshish ²⁶  and the coastlands will offer gifts;

the kings of Sheba ²⁷  and Seba ²⁸  will bring tribute.

[72:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

[72:1]  ² tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

[72:1]  ³ tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

[72:1]  ⁴ sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

[72:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”

[72:2]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ⁷ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[72:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “[the] mountains will bear peace to the people, and [the] hills with justice.” The personified mountains and hills probably represent messengers who will sweep over the land announcing the king’s just decrees and policies. See Isa 52:7 and C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:133.

[72:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “judge [for].”

[72:4]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “sons.”

[72:5]  ¹² tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.” See Ps 33:8. Some interpreters, with the support of the LXX, prefer to read וְיַאֲרִיךְ (vÿ’a’arikh, “and he [the king in this case] will prolong [days]”), that is, “will live a long time” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[72:5]  ¹³ tn God is the addressee (see vv. 1-2).

[72:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “with [the] sun, and before [the] moon [for] a generation, generations.” The rare expression דּוֹר דּוֹרִים (dor dorim, “generation, generations”) occurs only here, in Ps 102:24, and in Isa 51:8.

[72:6]  ¹⁵ tn That is, the king (see vv. 2, 4).

[72:6]  ¹⁶ tn The rare term zg refers to a sheep’s fleece in Deut 18:4 and Job 31:20, but to “mown” grass or crops here and in Amos 7:1.

[72:6]  ¹⁷ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to be an otherwise unattested noun. Many prefer to emend the form to a verb from the root זָרַף (zaraf). BHS in textual note b on this verse suggests a Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural יַזְרִיפוּ (yazrifu), while HALOT 283 s.v. *זרף prefers a Pilpel perfect, third masculine plural זִרְזְפוּ (zirzÿfu). The translation assumes the latter.

[72:6]  ¹⁸ sn The imagery of this verse compares the blessings produced by the king’s reign to fructifying rains that cause the crops to grow.

[72:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “sprout up,” like crops. This verse continues the metaphor of rain utilized in v. 6.

[72:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and [there will be an] abundance of peace until there is no more moon.”

[72:8]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is a (shortened) jussive form, indicating this is a prayer of blessing.

[72:8]  ²² sn From sea to sea. This may mean from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. See Amos 8:12. The language of this and the following line also appears in Zech 9:10.

[72:8]  ²³ tn Heb “the river,” a reference to the Euphrates.

[72:9]  ²⁴ tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.

[72:9]  ²⁵ sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.

[72:10]  ²⁶ sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.

[72:10]  ²⁷ sn Sheba was located in Arabia.

[72:10]  ²⁸ sn Seba was located in Africa.