Psalm 72
Amplified Bible
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king [knowledge of] Your judgments, O God,
And [the spirit of] Your righteousness to the king’s son [to guide all his ways].
2
May he judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your afflicted with justice.(A)
3
The mountains will bring peace and prosperity to the people,
And the hills, in [the establishment of] righteousness.
4
May he bring justice to the poor among the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor,
5
Let them fear You [with awe-inspired reverence and worship You with obedience] while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon [reflects light], throughout all generations.
6
May he come down like rain on the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
7
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And peace abound until the moon is no more.(B)
8
May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth.(C)
9
The nomads of the desert will bow before him,
And his enemies will [a]lick the dust.
10
The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring offerings;
The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.
11
Yes, all kings will bow down before him,
All nations will serve him.(D)
12
For he will rescue the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted and abused also, and him who has no helper.
13
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the lives of the needy.
14
He will redeem their life from oppression and fraud and violence,
And their blood will be precious in His sight.
15
So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually;
Let them bless and praise him all day long.
16
There will be an abundance of grain in the soil on the top of the [b]mountains;
Its fruit will wave like [the cedars of] Lebanon,
And those of the city will flourish like grass of the earth.
17
May his name endure forever;
May his name continue as long as the sun;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.
18
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone does wonderful things.
19
Blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20
The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
Footnotes
- Psalm 72:9 I.e. lay themselves face down in submission.
- Psalm 72:16 I.e. the most barren part of the land.
Psalm 72
The Message
72 1-8 Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God,
the gift of just rule to the crown prince.
May he judge your people rightly,
be honorable to your meek and lowly.
Let the mountains give exuberant witness;
shape the hills with the contours of right living.
Please stand up for the poor,
help the children of the needy,
come down hard on the cruel tyrants.
Outlast the sun, outlive the moon—
age after age after age.
Be rainfall on cut grass,
earth-refreshing rain showers.
Let righteousness burst into blossom
and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.
Rule from sea to sea,
from the River to the Rim.
9-14 Foes will fall on their knees before God,
his enemies lick the dust.
Kings remote and legendary will pay homage,
kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth.
All kings will fall down and worship,
and godless nations sign up to serve him,
Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
the destitute who have run out of luck.
He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
he restores the wretched of the earth.
He frees them from tyranny and torture—
when they bleed, he bleeds;
when they die, he dies.
15-17 And live! Oh, let him live!
Deck him out in Sheba gold.
Offer prayers unceasing to him,
bless him from morning to night.
Fields of golden grain in the land,
cresting the mountains in wild exuberance,
Cornucopias of praise, praises
springing from the city like grass from the earth.
May he never be forgotten,
his fame shine on like sunshine.
May all godless people enter his circle of blessing
and bless the One who blessed them.
18-20 Blessed God, Israel’s God,
the one and only wonder-working God!
Blessed always his blazing glory!
All earth brims with his glory.
Yes and Yes and Yes.
Psalm 72
New American Standard Bible
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]May the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]May they fear You (G)while the sun shines,
And [i]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [k]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (K)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]May (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]May the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tributes.
11 [o]And may all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [p]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [q]lives of the needy.
14 He will [r](Y)rescue their [s]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And [t]they are to pray for him continually;
[u]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like the (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [v](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (AF)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(AG)May all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Footnotes
- Psalm 72:2 Or He will judge
- Psalm 72:2 Many of the pronouns in this Psalm may be rendered He since the typical reference is to the Messiah
- Psalm 72:2 Or Your humble
- Psalm 72:3 Or The mountains will bring
- Psalm 72:3 Or prosperity
- Psalm 72:4 Or He will vindicate
- Psalm 72:4 Or humble
- Psalm 72:5 Or They will fear
- Psalm 72:5 Lit before the moon
- Psalm 72:6 Or He will come down
- Psalm 72:7 Or The righteous will flourish
- Psalm 72:9 Or The nomads...will bow
- Psalm 72:10 Or The kings...will bring
- Psalm 72:10 Or coastlands
- Psalm 72:11 Or All kings will bow down
- Psalm 72:12 Or humble
- Psalm 72:13 Lit souls
- Psalm 72:14 Lit redeem
- Psalm 72:14 Lit soul
- Psalm 72:15 Lit he is to
- Psalm 72:15 Lit He is to
- Psalm 72:17 Lit before the sun
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.