72:7 During his days the godly will flourish; 1
peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky. 2
72:8 May he rule 3 from sea to sea, 4
and from the Euphrates River 5 to the ends of the earth!
72:9 Before him the coastlands 6 will bow down,
and his enemies will lick the dust. 7
72:10 The kings of Tarshish 8 and the coastlands will offer gifts;
the kings of Sheba 9 and Seba 10 will bring tribute.
72:11 All kings will bow down to him;
all nations will serve him.
1 tn Heb “sprout up,” like crops. This verse continues the metaphor of rain utilized in v. 6.
2 tn Heb “and [there will be an] abundance of peace until there is no more moon.”
3 tn The prefixed verbal form is a (shortened) jussive form, indicating this is a prayer of blessing.
4 sn From sea to sea. This may mean from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. See Amos 8:12. The language of this and the following line also appears in Zech 9:10.
5 tn Heb “the river,” a reference to the Euphrates.
6 tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.
7 sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.
8 sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.
9 sn Sheba was located in Arabia.
10 sn Seba was located in Africa.