Psalms 72:1

For ²  Solomon. O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ³  Grant the king’s son ⁴  the ability to make fair decisions! ⁵ 

Of Solomon. Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.

<< A Psalm of Solomon.>> Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

<<A psalm of Solomon.>> Give justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son.

Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God, the gift of just rule to the crown prince.

<Of Solomon.> Give the king your authority, O God, and your righteousness to the king’s son.

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.

<< A Psalm of Solomon.>> Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.

For ²  Solomon. O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ³  Grant the king’s son ⁴  the ability to make fair decisions! ⁵ 

¹ sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

² tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

³ tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

⁴ sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

⁵ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”