¹ sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.

² tn The Niphal has here a tolerative nuance; the kings are urged to submit themselves to the advice being offered.

³ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

⁴ tn Or “awesome, majestic.”

⁵ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

⁶ sn Using the poetic device of inclusio, the psalmist ends the psalm the way he began it. The concluding refrain is identical to v. 1.

⁷ tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.

⁸ tn Heb “seed.”

⁹ tn Heb “sons of man.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of equity and justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world.

¹¹ tn Heb “fills the earth.”

¹² tn Heb “the face of the Lord [is] against the doers of evil to cut off from the earth memory of them.”

¹³ tn Heb “nations roar, kingdoms shake.” The Hebrew verb הָמָה (hamah, “roar, be in uproar”) is used in v. 3 of the waves crashing, while the verb מוֹט (mot, “overthrown”) is used in v. 2 of mountains tumbling into the sea (see also v. 5, where the psalm affirms that Jerusalem “cannot be moved”). The repetition of the verbs suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).

¹⁴ tn Heb “He.” God is the obvious referent here (see v. 5), and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Heb “offers his voice.” In theophanic texts the phrase refers to God’s thunderous shout which functions as a battle cry (see Pss 18:13; 68:33).

¹⁶ tn Or “melts.” See Amos 9:5. The image depicts the nation’s helplessness before Jerusalem’s defender, who annihilates their armies (see vv. 8-9). The imperfect verbal form emphasizes the characteristic nature of the action described.

¹⁷ sn In this context the Lord’s exploits are military in nature (see vv. 8b-9).

¹⁸ tn Heb “who sets desolations in the earth” (see Isa 13:9). The active participle describes God’s characteristic activity as a warrior.

¹⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term also occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142. Here, in a context of celebration, the meaning “skillful, well-written” would fit particularly well.

²⁰ tn Or “be exalted.”

²¹ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

²² tn Or “be exalted.”

²³ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

²⁴ tn The particle אַף (’af, “no”) is used here as a strong adversative emphasizing the following statement, which contrasts reality with the rulers’ claim alluded to in the rhetorical questions (see Ps 44:9).

²⁵ tn Heb “in the heart unjust deeds you do.” The phrase “in the heart” (i.e., “mind”) seems to refer to their plans and motives. The Hebrew noun עַוְלָה (’avlah, “injustice”) is collocated with פָּעַל (pa’al, “do”) here and in Job 36:23 and Ps 119:3. Some emend the plural form עוֹלֹת (’olot, “unjust deeds”; see Ps 64:6) to the singular עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”; see Job 34:32), taking the final tav (ת) as dittographic (note that the following verbal form begins with tav). Some then understand עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”) as a genitive modifying “heart” and translate, “with a heart of injustice you act.”

²⁶ tn Heb “in the earth the violence of your hands you weigh out.” The imagery is from the economic realm. The addressees measure out violence, rather than justice, and distribute it like a commodity. This may be ironic, since justice was sometimes viewed as a measuring scale (see Job 31:6).

²⁷ tn Heb “but they for destruction seek my life.” The pronoun “they” must refer here to the psalmist’s enemies, referred to at this point for the first time in the psalm.

²⁸ sn The depths of the earth refers here to the underworld dwelling place of the dead (see Ezek 26:20; 31:14, 16, 18; 32:18, 24). See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 167.

²⁹ sn Psalm 66. The psalmist praises God because he has delivered his people from a crisis.

³⁰ tn That is, the king (see vv. 2, 4).

³¹ tn The rare term zg refers to a sheep’s fleece in Deut 18:4 and Job 31:20, but to “mown” grass or crops here and in Amos 7:1.

³² tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to be an otherwise unattested noun. Many prefer to emend the form to a verb from the root זָרַף (zaraf). BHS in textual note b on this verse suggests a Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural יַזְרִיפוּ (yazrifu), while HALOT 283 s.v. *זרף prefers a Pilpel perfect, third masculine plural זִרְזְפוּ (zirzÿfu). The translation assumes the latter.

³³ sn The imagery of this verse compares the blessings produced by the king’s reign to fructifying rains that cause the crops to grow.

³⁴ tn Heb “they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue walks through the earth.” The meaning of the text is uncertain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e., speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence. Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) the first line as adversative and translate, “they set their mouth against heaven,” that is, they defy God.

³⁵ tn Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.

³⁶ tn The psalmist speaks as Israel’s representative here.

³⁷ tn Heb “in the midst of the earth.”

³⁸ tn Heb “melt.”

³⁹ tn The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically prevents the world from being overrun by chaos. One could take this as referring to an anticipated event, “I will make its pillars secure.”

⁴⁰ tn Heb “a [legal] decision,” or “sentence.”

⁴¹ tn “The earth” stands here by metonymy for its inhabitants.

⁴² tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.

⁴³ tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”

⁴⁴ tn The translation assumes that the Qal of נָחַל (nakhal) here means “to own; to possess,” and that the imperfect emphasizes a general truth. Another option is to translate the verb as future, “for you will take possession of all the nations” (cf. NIV “all the nations are your inheritance”).

⁴⁵ tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.

⁴⁶ sn Psalm 96. The psalmist summons everyone to praise the Lord, the sovereign creator of the world who preserves and promotes justice in the earth.

⁴⁷ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See also Pss 33:3; 40:3; 98:1.

⁴⁸ tn Or “in holy splendor.”

⁴⁹ sn Psalm 97. The psalmist depicts the Lord as the sovereign, just king of the world who comes in power to vindicate his people.

⁵⁰ sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.

⁵¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”

⁵² sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.

⁵³ tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).

⁵⁴ sn Psalm 100. The psalmist celebrates the fact that Israel has a special relationship to God and summons worshipers to praise the Lord for his faithfulness.

⁵⁵ tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”

⁵⁶ tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).

⁵⁷ tn Or “covered.”

⁵⁸ tn Or “the assembly of Abiram.”

⁵⁹ tn Or “be exalted.”

⁶⁰ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

⁶¹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

⁶² tn Heb “His seed will be mighty on the earth, the generation of the godly.” The Hebrew term דוֹר (dor, “generation”) could be taken as parallel to “offspring” and translated “posterity,” but the singular more likely refers to the godly as a class. See BDB 189-90 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

⁶³ tn Heb “the one who makes low to see.”

⁶⁴ tn Or “maker.”

⁶⁵ tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the Lord.”

⁶⁶ tn Heb “to the sons of man.”

⁶⁷ tn Heb “to a generation and a generation [is] your faithfulness.”

⁶⁸ sn Traditionally “dross” (so KJV, ASV, NIV). The metaphor comes from metallurgy; “slag” is the substance left over after the metallic ore has been refined.

⁶⁹ sn As he explains in the next verse, the psalmist’s fear of judgment motivates him to obey God’s rules.

⁷⁰ tn Heb “my help [is] from with the Lord.”

⁷¹ tn Or “Maker.”

⁷² tn Heb “our help [is] in the name of the Lord.”

⁷³ tn Or “Maker.”

⁷⁴ tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine singular, suggesting that the servants addressed in vv. 1-2 are responding to the psalmist.

⁷⁵ tn Heb “may the Lord bless you from Zion, the maker of heaven and earth.”

⁷⁶ tn Heb “the one who.”

⁷⁷ tn Heb “the one who sends his word, the earth.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) is an adverbial accusative; one must supply a preposition before it (such as “through” or “to”) in the English translation.

⁷⁸ tn Heb “swiftly his word runs.”