Psalms 72:10

72:10 The kings of Tarshish ¹  and the coastlands will offer gifts;

the kings of Sheba ²  and Seba ³  will bring tribute.

Psalms 2:6

2:6 “I myself ⁴  have installed ⁵  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

Psalms 44:4

44:4 You are my ⁶  king, O God!

Decree ⁷  Jacob’s ⁸  deliverance!

Psalms 68:24

68:24 They ⁹  see your processions, O God –

the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 74:12

74:12 But God has been my ¹¹  king from ancient times,

performing acts of deliverance on the earth. ¹² 

Psalms 148:11

148:11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,

you princes and all you leaders ¹³  on the earth,

Psalms 2:2

2:2 The kings of the earth ¹⁴  form a united front; ¹⁵ 

the rulers collaborate ¹⁶ 

against the Lord and his anointed king. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 5:2

5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,

my king and my God,

for I am praying to you!

Psalms 68:12

68:12 Kings leading armies run away – they run away! ¹⁸ 

The lovely lady ¹⁹  of the house divides up the loot.

Psalms 102:15

102:15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, ²⁰ 

and all the kings of the earth will respect ²¹  his splendor,

Psalms 110:4

110:4 The Lord makes this promise on oath ²²  and will not revoke it: ²³ 

“You are an eternal priest ²⁴  after the pattern of ²⁵  Melchizedek.” ²⁶ 

Psalms 138:4

138:4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks ²⁷  to you, O Lord,

when they hear the words you speak. ²⁸ 

Psalms 84:3

84:3 Even the birds find a home there,

and the swallow ²⁹  builds a nest,

where she can protect her young ³⁰ 

near your altars, O Lord who rules over all,

my king and my God.

[72:10]  ¹ sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.

[72:10]  ² sn Sheba was located in Arabia.

[72:10]  ³ sn Seba was located in Africa.

[2:6]  ⁴ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[44:4]  ⁷ sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.

[44:4]  ⁸ tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).

[44:4]  ⁹ tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[68:24]  ¹⁰ tn The subject is probably indefinite, referring to bystanders in general who witness the procession.

[68:24]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has simply “in holiness.” The words “who marches along” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[74:12]  ¹³ tn The psalmist speaks as Israel’s representative here.

[74:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the earth.”

[148:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “judges.”

[2:2]  ¹⁹ sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.

[2:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.

[2:2]  ²¹ tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).

[2:2]  ²² tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).

[68:12]  ²² tn The verbal repetition draws attention to the statement.

[68:12]  ²³ tn The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house” makes no sense here. The translation assumes that the form is an alternative or corruption of נצוה (“beautiful woman”). A reference to a woman would be appropriate in light of v. 11b.

[102:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “will fear the name of the Lord.” To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).

[102:15]  ²⁶ tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[110:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “swears, vows.”

[110:4]  ²⁹ tn Or “will not change his mind.” The negated Niphal imperfect of נָחַם (nakham) is a way of marking an announcement as an irrevocable decree. See 1 Sam 15:29; Ezek 24:14, as well as R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

[110:4]  ³⁰ sn You are an eternal priest. The Davidic king exercised a non-Levitical priestly role. The king superintended Judah’s cultic ritual, had authority over the Levites, and sometimes led in formal worship. David himself instructed the Levites to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chr 15:11-15), joined the procession, offered sacrifices, wore a priestly ephod, and blessed the people (2 Sam 6:12-19). At the dedication of the temple Solomon led the ceremony, offering sacrifices and praying on behalf of the people (1 Kgs 8).

[110:4]  ³¹ tn The phrase עַל־דִּבְרָתִי (’al-divratiy) is a variant of עַל־דִּבְרָת (’al-divrat; the final yod [י] being an archaic genitival ending), which in turn is a variant of עַל דָּבַר (’al davar). Both phrases can mean “concerning” or “because of,” but neither of these nuances fits the use of עַל־דִּבְרָתִי in Ps 110:4. Here the phrase probably carries the sense “according to the manner of.” See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 81.

[110:4]  ³² sn The Davidic king’s priestly role is analogous to that of Melchizedek, who was both “king of Salem” (i.e., Jerusalem) and a “priest of God Most High” in the time of Abraham (Gen 14:18-20). Like Melchizedek, the Davidic king was a royal priest, distinct from the Aaronic line (see Heb 7). The analogy focuses on the king’s priestly role; the language need not imply that Melchizedek himself was “an eternal priest.”

[138:4]  ³¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in the following verse are understood as jussives, for the psalmist appears to be calling upon the kings to praise God. Another option is to take them as imperfects and translate, “the kings of the earth will give thanks…and will sing.” In this case the psalmist anticipates a universal response to his thanksgiving song.

[138:4]  ³² tn Heb “the words of your mouth.”

[84:3]  ³⁴ tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.

[84:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”