Psalms 68

God Shall Scatter His Enemies

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

1  a God shall arise, his enemies shall be b scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
 2 As c smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
d as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
 3 But e the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
 4  Sing to God, f sing praises to his name;
g lift up a song to him who h rides through i the deserts;
his name is j the  Lord;
exult before him!
 5  k Father of the fatherless and l protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
 6 God m settles the solitary in a home;
he n leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but o the rebellious dwell in p a parched land.
 7  O God, when you q went out before your people,
r when you marched through s the wilderness,  Selah
8  t the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
 9  u Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
 10 your flock ▼
▼ Or  your congregation
 found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you w provided for the needy.
 11  The Lord gives x the word;
y the women who announce the news are a great host:
 12  z “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home aa divide the spoil—
 13 though you men lie among ab the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
 14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on ac Zalmon.
 15  O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked ▼
▼ Or hunch-backed; also verse 16
 mountain, mountain of Bashan!
 16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God ae desired for his abode,
yes, where the  Lord will dwell forever?
 17  af The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
 18  ag You ascended on high,
ah leading a host of captives in your train
and ai receiving gifts among men,
even among aj the rebellious ak that the  Lord God may dwell there.
 19  Blessed be the Lord,
who daily al bears us up;
God is our salvation.  Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
am and to  God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
 21  an But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
 22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back ao from Bashan,
ap I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
 23 that you may aq strike your feet in their blood,
that ar the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
 24  Your procession is ▼
▼ Or has been
 seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
 25  at the singers in front au the musicians last,
between them av virgins playing tambourines:
 26  aw “Bless God in the great congregation,
the  Lord, O you ▼
▼ The Hebrew for  you is plural here
 who are of ay Israel’s fountain!”
 27 There is az Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of ba Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
 28  bb Summon your power, O God, ▼
▼ By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power

the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
 29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bd bear gifts to you.
 30 Rebuke be the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bf bulls with the calves of the peoples.
bg Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war. ▼
▼ The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain

 31 Nobles shall come from bi Egypt;
bj Cush shall hasten to bk stretch out her hands to God.
 32  bl O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord,  Selah
33 to him bm who rides in bn the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he bo sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
 34  bp Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose bq power is in br the skies.
 35  bs Awesome is God from his ▼
▼ Septuagint; Hebrew your
 bu sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives bv power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
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