47:2 For the sovereign Lord 1 is awe-inspiring; 2
he is the great king who rules the whole earth! 3
66:7 He rules 4 by his power forever;
he watches 5 the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt 6 themselves. (Selah)
68:5 He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows. 7
God rules from his holy palace. 8
74:20 Remember your covenant promises, 9
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules. 10
119:14 I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules 11
as if 12 they were riches of all kinds. 13
1 tn Heb “the
2 tn Or “awesome.” The Niphal participle נוֹרָא (nora’), when used of God in the psalms, focuses on the effect that his royal splendor and powerful deeds have on those witnessing his acts (Pss 66:3, 5; 68:35; 76:7, 12; 89:7; 96:4; 99:3; 111:9). Here it refers to his capacity to fill his defeated foes with terror and his people with fearful respect.
3 tn Heb “a great king over all the earth.”
4 tn Heb “[the] one who rules.”
5 tn Heb “his eyes watch.” “Eyes” are an anthropomorphism, attributed to God here to emphasize his awareness of all that happens on earth.
6 tn The verb form is jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al). The Kethib (consonantal text) has a Hiphil form of the verb, apparently to be understood in an exhibitive sense (“demonstrate stubborn rebellion”; see BDB 927 s.v. רוּם Hiph), while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Qal form, to be understood in an intransitive sense. The preposition -לְ (lamed) with pronominal suffix should be understood in a reflexive sense (“for themselves”) and indicates that the action is performed with the interest of the subject in mind.
7 sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.
8 tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.
9 tc Heb “look at the covenant.” The LXX reads “your covenant,” which seems to assume a second person pronominal suffix. The suffix may have been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word (כִּי) begins with kaf (כ).
10 tn Heb “for the dark places of the earth are full of dwelling places of violence.” The “dark regions” are probably the lands where the people have been exiled (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:157). In some contexts “dark regions” refers to Sheol (Ps 88:6) or to hiding places likened to Sheol (Ps 143:3; Lam 3:6).
11 tn Heb “in the way of your rules.”
12 tn Heb “as upon,” meaning “as if” (see 2 Chr 32:19).
13 tn Heb “all wealth.” The phrase refers to all kinds of wealth and riches. See Prov 1:13; 6:31; 24:4; Ezek 27:12, 18.