Psalm 68:1-18

English Standard Version

God Shall Scatter His Enemies

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

68 ^(A)God shall arise, his enemies shall be ^(B)scattered;
    and those who hate him shall flee before him!
²As ^(C)smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
    ^(D)as wax melts before fire,
    so the wicked shall perish before God!
³But ^(E)the righteous shall be glad;
    they shall exult before God;
    they shall be jubilant with joy!

⁴Sing to God, ^(F)sing praises to his name;
    ^(G)lift up a song to him who ^(H)rides through ^(I)the deserts;
his name is ^(J)the Lord;
    exult before him!
⁵^(K)Father of the fatherless and ^(L)protector of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
⁶God ^(M)settles the solitary in a home;
    he ^(N)leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
    but ^(O)the rebellious dwell in ^(P)a parched land.

⁷O God, when you ^(Q)went out before your people,
    ^(R)when you marched through ^(S)the wilderness, Selah
⁸^(T)the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God,^[a] the God of Israel.
⁹^(U)Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
    you restored your inheritance as it languished;
¹⁰your flock^[b] found a dwelling in it;
    in your goodness, O God, you ^(V)provided for the needy.

¹¹The Lord gives ^(W)the word;
    ^(X)the women who announce the news are a great host:
¹²    ^(Y)“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home ^(Z)divide the spoil—
¹³    though you men lie among ^(AA)the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
    its pinions with shimmering gold.
¹⁴When the Almighty scatters kings there,
    let snow fall on ^(AB)Zalmon.

¹⁵O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
    O many-peaked^[c] mountain, mountain of Bashan!
¹⁶Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
    at the mount that God ^(AC)desired for his abode,
    yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
¹⁷^(AD)The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
    thousands upon thousands;
    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
¹⁸^(AE)You ascended on high,
    ^(AF)leading a host of captives in your train
    and ^(AG)receiving gifts among men,
even among ^(AH)the rebellious, ^(AI)that the Lord God may dwell there.