Discovery BoxPsalms 2:3-6 
Context2:3 They say, 1 “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! 2
Let’s free ourselves from 3 their ropes!”
2:4 The one enthroned 4 in heaven laughs in disgust; 5
the Lord taunts 6 them.
2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them
and terrifies them in his rage, 7 saying, 8
2:6 “I myself 9 have installed 10 my king
on Zion, my holy hill.”
1 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.
2 tn Heb “their (i.e., the
3 tn Heb “throw off from us.”
4 tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).
5 tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
6 tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”
7 sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.
8 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).
9 tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”
10 tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”
