Psalm 68
New King James Version
The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 Let (A)God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
2 (B)As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
(C)As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But (D)let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
(E)Extol[a] Him who rides on the [b]clouds,
(F)By His name [c]Yah,
And rejoice before Him.
5 (G)A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6 (H)God sets the solitary in families;
(I)He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But (J)the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, (K)when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 The earth shook;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 (L)You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,
Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,
When it was weary.
10 Your congregation dwelt in it;
(M)You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.
11 The Lord gave the word;
Great was the [d]company of those who proclaimed it:
12 “Kings(N) of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home divides the [e]spoil.
13 (O)Though you lie down among the [f]sheepfolds,
(P)You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And her feathers with yellow gold.”
14 (Q)When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
It was white as snow in Zalmon.
15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you [g]fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?
(R)This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;
Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.
17 (S)The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
Even thousands of thousands;
The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.
18 (T)You have ascended on high,
(U)You have led captivity captive;
(V)You have received gifts among men,
Even from (W)the rebellious,
(X)That the Lord God might dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation;
And (Y)to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
21 But (Z)God will wound the head of His enemies,
(AA)The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring (AB)back from Bashan,
I will bring them back (AC)from the depths of the sea,
23 (AD)That [h]your foot may crush them in blood,
(AE)And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen Your [i]procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25 (AF)The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after;
Among them were the maidens playing timbrels.
26 Bless God in the congregations,
The Lord, from (AG)the fountain of Israel.
27 (AH)There is little Benjamin, their leader,
The princes of Judah and their [j]company,
The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 [k]Your God has (AI)commanded your strength;
Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
(AJ)Kings will bring presents to You.
30 Rebuke the beasts of the reeds,
(AK)The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Till everyone (AL)submits himself with pieces of silver.
Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 (AM)Envoys will come out of Egypt;
(AN)Ethiopia will quickly (AO)stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you (AP)kingdoms of the earth;
Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him (AQ)who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!
Indeed, He sends out His voice, a (AR)mighty voice.
34 (AS)Ascribe strength to God;
His excellence is over Israel,
And His strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, (AT)You are more awesome than Your holy places.
The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God!
Footnotes
- Psalm 68:4 Praise
- Psalm 68:4 MT deserts; Tg. heavens (cf. v. 34 and Is. 19:1)
- Psalm 68:4 Lit. Lord, a shortened Heb. form
- Psalm 68:11 host
- Psalm 68:12 plunder
- Psalm 68:13 Or saddlebags
- Psalm 68:16 Lit. stare
- Psalm 68:23 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. you may dip your foot
- Psalm 68:24 Lit. goings
- Psalm 68:27 throng
- Psalm 68:28 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Command, O God
Psalm 68
Legacy Standard Bible
Let God’s Enemies Be Scattered
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]Let (A)God arise, [b]let His enemies be scattered,
And [c]let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before the fire,
So let the (D)wicked perish before God.
3 But let the (E)righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
And let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Lift up a song for Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]Yah, and exult before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy habitation.
6 God (M)causes the lonely to inhabit a home;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the wasteland, [g]Selah.
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dripped rain at the presence of God;
[h](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)caused abundant rain to sprinkle down, O God;
You established Your inheritance when it was [i]parched.
10 Your creatures inhabited it;
You (V)established it in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
11 The Lord gives the word;
The (W)women who proclaim the good news are a great host:
12 “(X)Kings of armies retreat, they retreat,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoil!”
13 If you men lie down (Z)among the [j]sheepfolds,
You all would be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)dispersed the kings [k]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 A [l](AC)mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has (AD)prized for His habitation?
Surely (AE)Yahweh will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [m]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[n]The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have (AH)ascended on high, You have (AI)led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that Yah—God—may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily (AJ)bears our burden,
(AK)The God who is our salvation. Selah.
20 God is to us a (AL)God of [o]salvation;
And (AM)to Yahweh the Lord belong escapes [p]from death.
21 Surely God will (AN)crush the head of His enemies,
The hairy [q]skull of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
22 The Lord [r]said, “(AO)I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
23 That [s](AP)your foot may crush them in blood,
The tongue of your (AQ)dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen (AR)Your [t]procession, O God,
The [u]procession of my God, my King, [v](AS)into the sanctuary.
25 The (AT)singers went on, the musicians after them,
[w]In the midst of the (AU)maidens beating tambourines.
26 (AV)Bless God in the congregations,
Yahweh, the (AW)fountain of Israel.
27 There is (AX)Benjamin, the [x]youngest, [y]having dominion over them,
The princes of Judah in their throng,
The princes of (AY)Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 [z]Your God has (AZ)commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, O God, (BA)who has worked [aa]on our behalf.
29 [ab]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
(BB)Kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the (BC)beast [ac]in the reeds,
The herd of (BD)bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;
He has (BE)cast out the peoples who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come out of (BF)Egypt;
[ad](BG)Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, O (BH)kingdoms of the earth,
(BI)Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
33 To Him who (BJ)rides upon the [ae](BK)highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, (BL)He gives forth His voice, a (BM)voice that is strong.
34 (BN)Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And (BO)His strength is in the [af]skies.
35 [ag]O God, You are (BP)awesome from Your [ah]sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself (BQ)gives strength and might to the people.
(BR)Blessed be God!
Footnotes
- Psalm 68:1 Or God shall
- Psalm 68:1 Or His enemies shall
- Psalm 68:1 Or those who hate Him shall
- Psalm 68:4 Or Cast up a highway
- Psalm 68:4 The shortened form of Yahweh, found in poetry and praise (e.g. Hallelujah), and in names (e.g. Zechariah)
- Psalm 68:5 Lit of
- Psalm 68:7 Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo, Musical Interlude
- Psalm 68:8 Lit This is Sinai which
- Psalm 68:9 Lit weary
- Psalm 68:13 Or cooking stones, saddle bags
- Psalm 68:14 Lit in it
- Psalm 68:15 Or mighty mountain is
- Psalm 68:17 Lit twice ten thousand
- Psalm 68:17 Or The Lord came from Sinai into the sanctuary
- Psalm 68:20 Lit salvations
- Psalm 68:20 In view of; lit for
- Psalm 68:21 Or crown
- Psalm 68:22 Or says
- Psalm 68:23 Some versions render, you may bathe your foot in blood
- Psalm 68:24 Lit goings
- Psalm 68:24 Lit goings
- Psalm 68:24 Lit in the sanctuary; or in holiness
- Psalm 68:25 Or The maidens in the midst
- Psalm 68:27 Or smallest
- Psalm 68:27 Or their ruler
- Psalm 68:28 Some mss Command, God
- Psalm 68:28 Lit for us
- Psalm 68:29 Or From Your temple
- Psalm 68:30 Lit of
- Psalm 68:31 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
- Psalm 68:33 Lit heaven of heavens of old
- Psalm 68:34 Lit clouds
- Psalm 68:35 Or Awesome is God from your sanctuary
- Psalm 68:35 Lit holy places
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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