Psalm 97:1-7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 97[a]
The Divine Ruler of All
I
1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.(A)
2 Cloud and darkness surround him;
justice and right are the foundation of his throne.(B)
3 Fire goes before him,
consuming his foes on every side.
4 His lightening illumines the world;
the earth sees and trembles.(C)
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(D)
6 The heavens proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.(E)
II
7 All who serve idols are put to shame,
who glory in worthless things;
all gods[b] bow down before him.(F)
Footnotes
- Psalm 97 The hymn begins with God appearing in a storm, a traditional picture of some ancient Near Eastern gods (Ps 97:1–6); cf. Ps 18:8–16; Mi 1:3–4; Hb 3:3–15. Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous (Ps 97:10–12).
- 97:7 All gods: divine beings thoroughly subordinate to Israel’s God. The Greek translates “angels,” an interpretation adopted by Hb 1:6.
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