Psalm 60
Expanded Bible
A Prayer After a Defeat
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lily of the ·Agreement [Testimony].” A miktam [C perhaps “inscription”] of David. For teaching. When David fought the Arameans of ·northwest Mesopotamia [Naharaim; L the Two Rivers] and Zobah, and when Joab returned and ·defeated [L struck] twelve thousand ·Edomites at the Valley of Salt [2 Sam. 8; 1 Chr. 18].
60 God, you have rejected us and ·scattered us [broken us down; burst forth on us].
You have been angry, but please ·come back to [restore] us.
2 You made the earth shake and ·crack [split open].
Heal its ·breaks [cracks; fractures] because it ·is shaking [totters].
3 You have ·given your people [L made your people see] ·trouble [hardship].
You made us ·unable to walk straight, like people drunk with wine [L drink wine that makes us reel; C the cup of God’s wrath; Jer. 25:15–29; Nah. 3:11; Matt. 26:39].
4 You have raised a banner to gather those who fear you.
Now they can ·stand up against the enemy [L escape/flee from the bow]. ·
5 Answer us and ·save us [give us victory] by your ·power [L hand]
so ·the people you love [your beloved] will be rescued.
6 God has said ·from his Temple [from his Holy Place; or in his holiness],
“·When I win [or With joy], I will ·divide [parcel up] Shechem
and measure off the Valley of Succoth [Gen. 33:17–20].
7 Gilead and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is like my helmet.
Judah holds my royal scepter [Gen. 49:10; C they are agents of God’s power].
8 Moab is like my washbowl.
I throw my sandals at Edom [C showing contempt].
I shout [C in triumph] at Philistia [C enemies of Israel].”
9 Who will bring me to the ·strong, walled [fortified] city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 God, ·surely you have rejected [L have you not rejected…?] us;
you do not go out with our armies.
11 ·Help us fight the enemy [L Give us help against the foe].
Human ·help [deliverance] is useless,
12 but we can ·win [fight bravely] with God’s help.
He will ·defeat [tread on] our ·enemies [foes].
Psalm 60
King James Version
60 O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
2 Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
3 Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
5 That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.
6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
8 Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
9 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
10 Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?
11 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
Psalm 60
Wycliffe Bible
60 To victory, on the witnessing of (the) rose, the sweet song of David, to teach men, when he fought against Aram of floods, and Syria of Zobah; and Joab turned again, and smote Edom in the valley of salt pits, twelve thousand. God, thou hast put away us, and thou hast destroyed us; thou were wroth, and thou hast done mercy to us. (To victory, on the teaching of the lily, the sweet song of David, to teach men, when he fought against Aramnaharaim, and Aramzobah; and Joab returned, and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of the Salt Pits. God, thou hast cast us away, and thou hast destroyed us; thou were angry, but now, show thou thy mercy to us/show thou us thy mercy.)
2 Thou movedest the earth, and thou troubledest it; make thou whole (again) the sorrows thereof, for it is moved. (Thou hast shaken the earth, and thou hast troubled it; but now heal thou its wounds, for it is broken in pieces.)
3 Thou showedest hard things to thy people; thou gavest drink to us with the wine of compunction. (Thou hast shown thy people hard times; and thou hast made us stagger, as though we were drunk with wine.)
4 Thou hast given a signifying to them that dread thee; that they flee from the face of the bow. (Thou hast given a sign, or a warning, to those who fear thee/to those who revere thee; so that they can flee, or escape, from the face of the bow.)
5 That thy darlings be delivered; make thou safe with thy right hand, and hear thou me. (Save thy dear ones; yea, save thou us with thy right hand, and answer thou me.)[a]
6 God spake by his holy (place); I shall be glad, and I shall part Shechem, and I shall mete the great valley of tabernacles. (God spoke in his holiness/God spoke from his sanctuary, and he said, I shall be glad, and I shall divide Shechem; and I shall measure out the Succoth Valley.)
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; and Ephraim is the strength of mine head. Judah is my king; (Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, and Judah is my sceptre.)
8 Moab is the pot of mine hope. Into Idumea I shall stretch forth my shoe; aliens be made subject to me. (But Moab is my washbowl. And I shall throw my shoes at Edom; and Philistia shall be made subject to me.)
9 Who shall lead me into a city made strong; who shall lead me into Idumea? (Who shall lead me into the strengthened, or the fortified, city? who shall lead me unto Edom?)
10 Whether not thou, God, that hast put away us; and shalt thou not, God, go out in our virtues? (Shalt not thou, O God, even though thou hast cast us off, or rejected us? or shalt not thou, O God, go out with our hosts, or our armies, any more?)
11 Lord, give thou to us help (out) of tribulation; for the help of man is vain. (Lord, give thou us help in the time of trouble; for the help of man is worthless, yea, but an empty hope.)
12 In God we shall make virtue; and he shall bring to nought them that trouble us/that disturb us. (With God’s help, we shall do valiantly/we shall have the victory; and he shall bring down those who trouble us into nothing.)
Footnotes
- Psalm 60:5 Compare Psalm 60:5-12 to Psalm 108:6-13.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
2001 by Terence P. Noble