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Prayer to Yahweh for Victory over Enemies

A song. A psalm of David.[a]

108 My heart is steadfast, O God.
I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
Awake, harp and lyre.
I will awake the dawn.[b]
I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Yahweh;
I will give you praise among the nations,
because your loyal love is great above the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God,
and let your glory be above all the earth,
so that your beloved ones may be rescued.
Save by your right hand and answer me.
God has spoken in his holiness,
“I will exult, I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine.
And Ephraim is the helmet for[c] my head.
Judah is my scepter;[d]
Moab is my washing pot.
Over Edom I will cast my sandal;
Over Philistia I will shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you not rejected us, O God,
and not gone out with our armies, O God?
12 Give us help against the enemy,
for the help of humankind is futile.
13 Through God we will do valiantly,[e]
and it is he who will tread down our enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 108:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  2. Psalm 108:2 Or “I will awake at dawn”
  3. Psalm 108:8 Literally “protection of”
  4. Psalm 108:8 Or “commander’s rod”
  5. Psalm 108:13 Hebrew “do might”

Psalm 108[a](A)(B)

A song. A psalm of David.

My heart, O God, is steadfast;(C)
    I will sing(D) and make music with all my soul.
Awake, harp and lyre!(E)
    I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love,(F) higher than the heavens;
    your faithfulness(G) reaches to the skies.(H)
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;(I)
    let your glory be over all the earth.(J)

Save us and help us with your right hand,(K)
    that those you love may be delivered.
God has spoken(L) from his sanctuary:(M)
    “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem(N)
    and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.(O)
Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah(P) is my scepter.
Moab(Q) is my washbasin,
    on Edom(R) I toss my sandal;
    over Philistia(S) I shout in triumph.”

10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
    and no longer go out with our armies?(T)
12 Give us aid against the enemy,
    for human help is worthless.(U)
13 With God we will gain the victory,
    and he will trample down(V) our enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 108:1 In Hebrew texts 108:1-13 is numbered 108:2-14.

Psalm 108

A song. A psalm of David.

My heart is confident in you, O God;
    no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
Wake up, lyre and harp!
    I will wake the dawn with my song.
I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
    I will sing your praises among the nations.
For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
    Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
    May your glory shine over all the earth.

Now rescue your beloved people.
    Answer and save us by your power.
God has promised this by his holiness[a]:
“I will divide up Shechem with joy.
    I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine,
    and Manasseh, too.
Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,
    and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.
But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,
    and I will wipe my feet on Edom
    and shout in triumph over Philistia.”

10 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
    Who will bring me victory over Edom?
11 Have you rejected us, O God?
    Will you no longer march with our armies?
12 Oh, please help us against our enemies,
    for all human help is useless.
13 With God’s help we will do mighty things,
    for he will trample down our foes.

Footnotes

  1. 108:7 Or in his sanctuary.

108 1-2 I’m ready, God, so ready,
    ready from head to toe.
Ready to sing,
    ready to raise a God-song:
“Wake, soul! Wake, lute!
    Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

3-6 I’m thanking you, God, out in the streets,
    singing your praises in town and country.
The deeper your love, the higher it goes;
    every cloud’s a flag to your faithfulness.
Soar high in the skies, O God!
    Cover the whole earth with your glory!
And for the sake of the one you love so much,
    reach down and help me—answer me!

7-9 That’s when God spoke in holy splendor:
    “Brimming over with joy,
I make a present of Shechem,
    I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.
Gilead’s in my pocket,
    to say nothing of Manasseh.
Ephraim’s my hard hat,
    Judah my hammer.
Moab’s a scrub bucket—
    I mop the floor with Moab,
Spit on Edom,
    rain fireworks all over Philistia.”

10-11 Who will take me to the thick of the fight?
    Who’ll show me the road to Edom?
You aren’t giving up on us, are you, God?
    refusing to go out with our troops?

12-13 Give us help for the hard task;
    human help is worthless.
In God we’ll do our very best;
    he’ll flatten the opposition for good.