Psalm 72
Legacy Standard Bible
Give the King Your Judgments
Of Solomon.
72 O God, give the king (A)Your judgments,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)render judgment to Your people with righteousness
And (D)Your [c]afflicted with justice.
3 Let the mountains lift up [d](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [e]May he (F)give justice to the [f]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [g]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [h]as long as the moon, from generation to all generations.
6 [i]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [j]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
And (K)abundance of peace until the moon is no more.
8 May he also have dominion (L)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [k]Let (M)the desert creatures (N)kneel before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [l]Let the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the (Q)coastlands bring a present;
The kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tribute.
11 [m]And let all (U)kings bow down to him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [n]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [o]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will (Y)redeem their [p]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live! And may they give to him the (AA)gold of Sheba;
And let each pray for him continually;
Let each bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
May its fruit wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city blossom like (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name [q]increase [r](AE)as long as the sun shines;
Let all nations [s](AF)be blessed in him;
(AG)Let all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wondrous deeds.
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 [t]The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.
Footnotes
- Psalm 72:2 Or He will judge
- Psalm 72:2 Many of the pronouns in this Psalm may be rendered He since the ultimate reference is to the Messiah
- Psalm 72:2 Or humble
- 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 kneel
- Psalm 72:10 Or The kings...will bring
- Psalm 72:11 Or All kings will bow down
- Psalm 72:12 Or humble
- Psalm 72:13 Lit souls
- Psalm 72:14 Lit soul
- Psalm 72:17 To obtain descendants; or sprout forth
- Psalm 72:17 Lit before the sun
- Psalm 72:17 Or experience blessing repeatedly, bless themselves
- Psalm 72:20 Possibly one of the last prayers of David for Solomon, which Solomon incorporated into his psalm
Psalm 72
Lexham English Bible
A Prayer for the Prosperity of God’s Anointed King
Of Solomon.[a]
72 O God, give your judgments to the king,
and your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3 Let the mountains yield prosperity[b] for the people,
and the hills in righteousness.
4 May he provide justice for the poor of the people,
save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live long[c] while the sun endures[d]
as long as the moon[e] for all generations.[f]
6 May he descend like rain on mown grass,
like showers watering the earth.
7 May what is right blossom in his days
and an abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 And may he rule from sea up to sea,
and from the River[g] to the edges of the land.
9 Let the desert dwellers bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute.
Let the kings of Sheba and Seba present gifts,
11 and let all kings bow down to him.
Let all nations serve him.
12 Indeed he will deliver the needy who is crying for help,
and the afflicted who has no helper.
13 He will take pity on the helpless and needy,
and the lives of the needy he will save.
14 From oppression and from violence
he will redeem their lives,
and their blood will be precious in his eyes.
15 So may he live, and may gold from Sheba be given to him,
and may prayers be offered for him continually.
May blessings be invoked for him all day long.[h]
16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land
even on the top of the mountains.
May his crop[i] sway like the trees of Lebanon,
and may those from the city blossom like the grass of the earth.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name increase as long as the sun shines,[j]
and let them be blessed in him.
Let all nations call him blessed.
18 Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonderful things.
19 And blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.
Footnotes
- Psalm 72:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
- Psalm 72:3 Or “peace”
- Psalm 72:5 This presupposes the reading, suggested by the LXX, that might indicate that two of the Hebrew root letters have been inverted. The Hebrew reads “They will/Let them fear”
- Psalm 72:5 Literally “with the sun”
- Psalm 72:5 Literally “in the presence of the moon”
- Psalm 72:5 Literally “generation of generations”
- Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
- Psalm 72:15 Literally “all the day”
- Psalm 72:16 Or “May his descendants”
- Psalm 72:17 Literally “in the presence of the sun”
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