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Psalm 76[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.

76 God has revealed himself in Judah;[b]
in Israel his reputation[c] is great.
He lives in Salem;[d]
he dwells in Zion.[e]
There he shattered the arrows,[f]
the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war.[g] (Selah)
You shine brightly and reveal your majesty,
as you descend from the hills where you killed your prey.[h]
The bravehearted[i] were plundered;[j]
they “fell asleep.”[k]
All the warriors were helpless.[l]
At the sound of your battle cry,[m] O God of Jacob,
both rider[n] and horse “fell asleep.”[o]
You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger?[p]
From heaven you announced what their punishment would be.[q]
The earth[r] was afraid and silent
when God arose to execute judgment,
and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
10 Certainly[s] your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise;[t]
you reveal your anger in full measure.[u]
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them.
Let all those who surround him[v] bring tribute to the awesome one.
12 He humbles princes;[w]
the kings of the earth regard him as awesome.[x]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 76:1 sn Psalm 76. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior who destroys Israel’s enemies.
  2. Psalm 76:1 tn Or “God is known in Judah.”
  3. Psalm 76:1 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
  4. Psalm 76:2 sn Salem is a shorter name for Jerusalem (see Gen 14:18).
  5. Psalm 76:2 tn Heb “and his place of refuge is in Salem, and his lair in Zion.” God may be likened here to a lion (see v. 4).
  6. Psalm 76:3 tn Heb “flames of the bow,” i.e., arrows.
  7. Psalm 76:3 tn Heb “shield and sword and battle.” “Battle” probably here stands by metonymy for the weapons of war in general.sn This verse may allude to the miraculous defeat of the Assyrians in 701 b.c. (see Isa 36-37).
  8. Psalm 76:4 tn Heb “radiant [are] you, majestic from the hills of prey.” God is depicted as a victorious king and as a lion that has killed its victims.
  9. Psalm 76:5 tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).
  10. Psalm 76:5 tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).
  11. Psalm 76:5 tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”
  12. Psalm 76:5 tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”
  13. Psalm 76:6 tn Heb “from your shout.” The noun is derived from the Hebrew verb גָּעַר (gaʿar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 18:15; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
  14. Psalm 76:6 tn Or “chariot,” but even so the term is metonymic for the charioteer.
  15. Psalm 76:6 tn Heb “he fell asleep, and [the] chariot and [the] horse.” Once again (see v. 5) “sleep” refers here to the “sleep” of death.
  16. Psalm 76:7 tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (meʾaz, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (meʾoz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).
  17. Psalm 76:8 tn Heb “a [legal] decision,” or “sentence.”
  18. Psalm 76:8 tn “The earth” stands here by metonymy for its inhabitants.
  19. Psalm 76:10 tn Or “for.”
  20. Psalm 76:10 tn Heb “the anger of men will praise you.” This could mean that men’s anger (subjective genitive), when punished by God, will bring him praise, but this interpretation does not harmonize well with the next line. The translation assumes that God’s anger is in view here (see v. 7) and that “men” is an objective genitive. God’s angry judgment against men brings him praise because it reveals his power and majesty (see vv. 1-4).
  21. Psalm 76:10 tn Heb “the rest of anger you put on.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear. Perhaps the idea is that God, as he prepares for battle, girds himself with every last ounce of his anger, as if it were a weapon.
  22. Psalm 76:11 tn The phrase “all those who surround him” may refer to the surrounding nations (v. 12 may favor this), but in Ps 89:7 the phrase refers to God’s heavenly assembly.
  23. Psalm 76:12 tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.
  24. Psalm 76:12 tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”

 神的威荣无人能敌

歌一首,亚萨的诗,交给诗班长,用丝弦的乐器伴奏。

76 在犹大, 神是人人所认识的,

在以色列,他的名被尊为大。

他的帐棚是在撒冷,

他的居所是在锡安。

在那里他折断了弓上的火箭,

拆毁了盾牌、刀剑和争战的兵器。(细拉)

你满有光华和荣美,

胜过猎物丰富的群山。

心里勇敢的人都被抢掠,

他们长睡不起;

所有大能的勇士都无力举手。

雅各的 神啊!因你的斥责,坐车的和骑马的都沉睡了。

唯有你是可畏的,

你的烈怒一发出,谁能在你面前站立得住呢?

8-9  神啊!你起来施行审判,

要拯救地上所有困苦的人。

那时,你从天上宣告审判,

地上的人就惧怕,并且静默无声。(细拉)

10 人的忿怒必使你得称赞,

人的余怒必成为你的装饰。

11 你们许愿,总要向耶和华你们的 神偿还;

所有在他周围的人,都要把贡物带来献给那可敬畏的 神。

12 他必挫折众领袖的傲气,

他必使地上的君王畏惧他。