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Psalm 98[a]

Praise of the Lord, King and Judge

A psalm.

Sing to the Lord a new song,[b]
    for he has accomplished marvelous deeds.
His right hand and his holy arm
    have made him victorious.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
    he has manifested his righteousness for all the nations to see.[c]
He has remembered his kindness[d] and his fidelity
    to the house of Israel.
The farthest ends of the earth have witnessed
    the salvation of our God.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
    raise your voices in songs of praise.
Sing praise to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and melodious singing.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    sing joyfully to the King, the Lord.[e]
[f]Let the sea resound and everything in it,
    the world[g] and all its inhabitants.
Let the rivers clap their hands
    and the mountains shout for joy.
Let them sing before the Lord, who is coming,
    coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice
    and the nations with fairness.[h]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 98:1 Israel has returned from the Exile; God has saved her, and the whole world is a witness of it. Hence, the Lord is pursuing his project of salvation. Let all peoples acclaim him as their sovereign and let joy burst out over the whole face of the earth, for God comes to inaugurate a kingdom of peace and justice for all humanity. The same worldwide perspective is glimpsed in the second part of the Book of Isaiah (Isa 40–55) with which the psalms of the kingdom have much in common.
    The previous psalm brought to mind the second coming of Christ. This psalm recalls the first coming of the Lord and the faith of all peoples. Hence, the Christian Liturgy uses it during the Christmas season, since the latter is so filled with joy at the coming of the Lord, the Savior of all human beings.
  2. Psalm 98:1 God’s deliverance of Israel from the Exile, a type of the Messianic redemption, is such a wondrous deed that it deserves to be praised in song. New song: see note on Ps 33:3. Marvelous deeds: see note on Ps 9:2. His right hand and his holy arm: God is portrayed as a champion warrior.
  3. Psalm 98:2 Reminiscent of his wonders during the Exodus, God has once again revealed his infinite power and greatness (see note on Ps 46:11; see also Isa 52:10).
  4. Psalm 98:3 God has kept the promise he made to the house of Israel, and it is fully visible to all nations. The complete fulfillment of this promise was what God performed in the redemption worked by his Son Jesus Christ—which also was seen by all nations. Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
  5. Psalm 98:6 The whole of creation is summoned to acclaim the Lord as King, as Israel acclaimed her kings at their coronation, with trumpets and horns (see 1 Ki 1:34).
  6. Psalm 98:7 All creation is exhorted to honor its King (see note on Ps 96:11-12).
  7. Psalm 98:7 Sea . . . world: the two major areas that contain living things.
  8. Psalm 98:9 The Lord will come to rule everyone impartially. Jesus announced that the long-awaited coming of the Lord to rule the earth had begun in his ministry (see Mk 1:15: “The kingdom of God is close at hand”). See also note on Ps 96:13.

98 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.

With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Psalm 98

A psalm.

Sing to the Lord(A) a new song,(B)
    for he has done marvelous things;(C)
his right hand(D) and his holy arm(E)
    have worked salvation(F) for him.
The Lord has made his salvation known(G)
    and revealed his righteousness(H) to the nations.(I)
He has remembered(J) his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth(K) have seen
    the salvation of our God.(L)

Shout for joy(M) to the Lord, all the earth,
    burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,(N)
    with the harp and the sound of singing,(O)
with trumpets(P) and the blast of the ram’s horn(Q)
    shout for joy(R) before the Lord, the King.(S)

Let the sea(T) resound, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it.(U)
Let the rivers clap their hands,(V)
    let the mountains(W) sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples with equity.(X)

Psalm 98[a]

A psalm.

98 Sing to the Lord a new song,[b]
for he performs[c] amazing deeds.
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance.[d]
The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver;[e]
in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.
He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel.[f]
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.[g]
Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth.
Break out in a joyful shout and sing!
Sing to the Lord accompanied by a harp,
accompanied by a harp and the sound of music.
With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,
shout out praises before the king, the Lord.
Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
before the Lord.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[h]
and the nations in a just manner.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 98:1 sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.
  2. Psalm 98:1 sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.
  3. Psalm 98:1 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.
  4. Psalm 98:1 tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.
  5. Psalm 98:2 tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”
  6. Psalm 98:3 tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”
  7. Psalm 98:3 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).
  8. Psalm 98:9 tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).