Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan KS, 15 Mar 2015
1 For the concertmaster. A Psalm belonging to David.
Yahweh, it is in Your strength
that [the] king will be happy,
and in Your salvation how very much will he rejoice!
2 His heart’s desire You
gave to him,
and the expressed-desire of his lips You in no
way withheld.
Selah
3 Because You welcome him with good blessings,
You position on his head a crown of fine
gold .
4 It was life that he
requested from You.
You gave it to him – length of days for ever and ever!
5 His glory is great
through Your salvation.
Splendor and majesty you will level over him.
6 Because You position him for
blessings forever,
You will make him glad with happiness close to Your face.
7 Because the king is trusting in Yahweh
and in the lovingkindness of the Most High, he will in no way be overthrown.
8 Your hand will find all
Your enemies;
Your right hand will find those who hate You.
9 You will position them as [in] a furnace of fire at
Your time of appearance.
In His anger Yahweh will swallow them up, and fire will devour them.
10 You will destroy their
fruit from the earth
and their seed from the sons of Adam.
11 Because they have extended evil against You;
they thought up a scheme they are in no way
able [to pull off].
12 Because You will position
them to the side
with Your ropes set [at the ready] over their faces.
13 Yahweh, be exalted in
Your strength!
We will sing and make music about Your might!
· With Psalms 20 and 21, we are in a new genre of psalms called the royal/kingly psalms.
· This Psalm opens and closes with verses about God’s “strength,” and in the chiastic center of the Psalm, which is the focal point – verse 7, we find the verse about the king trusting in the LORD and in His lovingkindness. So the framework of this psalm is that God has displayed His strength by honoring this king who trusted Him and by demolishing the enemy army.
· There are four main characters in this psalm:
· One last point about the structure of this psalm is that there is a contrast between the faithful king and the enemies of God, and that is marked out by three words that get repeated throughout the psalm. Unfortunately those three words generally don’t get translated with the same English words, so it’s hard to see this pattern in our English versions.
§ which is variously translated “set,” “placed,” “made,” “granted,” “turn,” and “positioned”
§ It seems to be intentionally repeated at even intervals: verses 3, 6, 9, and 12.
§ The first two instances in verses 3 & 6 speak of the position of the faithful king, and the second two instances in verses 9 & 12 speak of the position of the enemies who hate God.
§ This can be broken down further in that the first one in v.3 speaks of the king in relation to God’s blessings, and the second of the position of the king in relation to God Himself. Then in v.9, the verb occurs to speak of the placement of the enemies of God in the fiery furnace of hell and finally in v.12 (according to my interpretation) of the enemies’ relation to God Himself as being placed unfavorably off to His side and executed.
§ This progression highlights the contrast between those saved by God and those who are enemies of God, and shows that their blessings or curses are all a result of their relationship toward God.
OK, now that the general structure of the Psalm is coming clear, let’s dive into it verse by verse:
v.1 Yahweh, it is in Your strength[1] that [the] king will be happy, and in Your salvation how very much will he rejoice!
· We’ve seen this throughout the Psalms:
o 2:11 “Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice [giyl] with trembling”
o 5:11 All refugees in You will be happy, they will sing out forever... and lovers of Your name will exult [alatz] in You!”
o 9:2 “I will be happy and exuberant [alatz] in You. I will play music about Your preeminent Name,”
o 9:14 “that I may recount all Your praises within the gates of the daughter of Zion, [and] rejoice [giyl] in Your salvation.”
o 13:5 “But as for me, it is in Your lovingkindness that I have trusted. My heart will rejoice [giyl] in Your salvation”
o 4:7b “When Yahweh turns back His people’s captivity, Jacob will rejoice [giyl]; Israel will be happy”
o 16:8 “I have kept Yahweh dead-level in front of me always, because I will never be overthrown from my right hand. 9. Therefore my heart has been happy and my glory has been rejoicing [giyl]. Moreover, my flesh will settle down confidently,”
o 19:8a “Yahweh’s accountabilities are heart-rejoicing-ly [samech] right...” (NAW)
o Also reminds me of 2 Samuel 6:12-15”...David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness... he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the LORD with all his might... David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet...” (NKJV)
2 His heart’s desire[2] You gave to him, and the expressed-desire[3] of his lips You in no way withheld.
o What was David’s heart’s desire that God did not withhold? I am reminded of Psalm 27:4 “One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.” (NASB)
o The components in Psalm 21 of answered prayer, the rejoicing at installing the worship of God in Jerusalem, the covenantal succession, and the Divine blessing all seem to fit with 2 Samuel 7:27-29, “For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.” (NKJV)
o In the causal phrases introduced in v.3-4 and again in vs. 6-7 we see God’s action to bless the king in v.3 next to a description of what the king did to get that blessing. In v.1, the king made a request with his lips, expressing his heart desire to God, namely in v.4 asking God for life. Throughout the Psalms we see this interplay of David asking and God blessing.
o This is consistent with the New Testament: Jesus said, “...everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:10 NKJV)
o and John wrote, “Loved ones, if [our] heart is not condemning, we can have an open conversation directly with God. And whatever we are requesting, we are receiving from Him, because we are keeping His commands and we are doing the acceptable things before Him.” (1 John 3:21-22, NAW)
v.3 Because You welcome[4] him with good blessings[5], You position on his head a crown of fine gold.
· Psalm 8:5 has already mentioned that God “crowned” תעטרהו a man with glory and honor.
· The root meaning of the Hebrew word barak “bless” is “to kneel.” It paints a picture of showing special honor, stopping what you’re doing, paying attention, giving a gift, and imparting words of blessing and hope for the future.
· The crown is given to the king at the very beginning of his reign, so perhaps the second half of this verse relates to the first half of this verse in terms of a welcoming which “pre-vents” or “goes before” the king’s reign along with blessings for the prosperity of his reign.
· 2 Samuel 1 mentions the literal “crown” of king Saul conveyed to David from the battlefield after Saul’s death.
· Then 2 Samuel 12 mentions Joab and David conquering the town of Rabbah, and after its downfall, the crown of Hanun, king of Rabbah was placed on David’s head. That crown is described as being a “talent” – either in gold value or in weight. According to John Gill’s commentary, it either contained a very precious sardonyx stone which was as valuable as 100 pounds of gold[6], or the crown was actually 100 pounds of gold, which would be pretty heavy – maybe that’s why David needed God to lift up his head! It was also very valuable: 100 pounds of gold at $1,150.00 per ounce today would be a crown worth about $1.8 million dollars!
· Cf. Ps. 19 – God’s law is even more to be desired than a large quantity of this “fine gold.”
4 It was life that he requested from You. You gave it to him – length of days for ever and ever!
o Psalm 23:6 “Surely good and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD to length of days.” (NAW)
o Although there is no explicit indication that Psalm 91 was by David, many Bible scholars attribute it to him. If he is indeed the author, then Psalm 91:14-16 might furnish the exact quote which God gave David through a prophet, "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." (NKJV) This, together with the covenant God made with David in 2 Sam 7 explain this Psalm – that God promised David long life as well as the extension of his life in a dynasty of kings in Jerusalem, physically descended from him, which would not die out but would rather result in a descendent, Jesus, who will be king forever, because He is divine.
5 His glory is great through Your salvation. Splendor and majesty you will level[7] over him.
· Glory, Splendor, and Majesty are all characteristics of God[8] Himself, but He can share these attributes with those He loves.
o In the book of Revelation 5:2 we see Jesus, the Lamb of God, with all these attributes: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (NKJV)
o And in Psalm 8:5 we saw God share it with mankind: “You make him a little lower than God and crown[9] him with glory [cvd] and majesty [hadar]” (NAW)
· The picture seems to me that God will raise the status of this king such that splendor and majesty are no longer out of reach and above his status but now he has that status – he’s now swimming in splendor and majesty.
· Instrumental in that process was Psalm 16:8, David setting his sights dead-level on God at his right hand so that he wouldn’t be moved and Psalm 18:33 where God transformed David to be suitable for splendor and majesty, like the feet of a deer are suitable for running around on high mountains. It is God who does it all!
· Now we come to the end of the section on the king who trusts in God, and we have a sixth characteristic of security in v.7 and a recap of the first characteristic of happiness in v.6
v.6 Because You position[10] him for blessings forever, You will make him glad[11] with happiness close to Your face.
· This is the second iteration of the word seet “place/position.” The first occurrence was v.3, where a crown was “positioned” on the king’s head. Now he is put “in position for blessings.”
· Taking the two phrases of this verse together, the “position” that the king will be placed in will be a spot “near” God’s “face” or “with” God’s “presence.”
· All blessings flow from God, so the king will be right close to God, in a position to catch every blessing that pours forth from Him!
· One of those blessings – and therefore one of the fruits of the spirit – is “joy/gladness/happiness.” Being so close to God’s presence will result in great joy.
· Do you want to be more joyful? Try asking for this!
· Verse 6 expounded on what God does to make the king happy and blessed; now verse 7 will describe what the king does: he trusts.
· Trust in God was the heart of Ps. 13 when joy was at a low ebb for David: “Now, as for me, it is in Your lovingkindness that I have trusted. My heart will rejoice in Your salvation.” (Ps. 13:5, NAW)
v.7 Because the king is trusting in Yahweh and in[12] the lovingkindness of the Most High, he will in no way be overthrown
· David had a very real reason to be concerned about being “overthrown/moved/shaken/toppled” – he has already mentioned this fear in Psalm 10, 13, 15, 16, and 17, using this same word.
· What will keep him in control? More horses and more chariots? No, “we will trust in the name of the Lord,” Yahweh (Ps. 20:7), and “I will trust in His chesed-love” (Ps. 13:5), and our God will keep things under control, “working all things together for good for those who love Him” (Rom. 8:28).
· Most of us don’t have to worry about insurgents and coup d’états, but we do have occasion to worry about things getting out of control:
o Will the bottom drop out of the economy?
o How is the next war going to affect me?
o What if an unjust law gets passed?
o Will I ever find a spouse?
o Is my spouse going to be unfaithful?
o What if I can’t have kids?
o What if my kids rebel?
o What if my neighbor mistakenly reports me for child abuse?
o What if I lose my job?
o What if nobody wants to hire me?
o What if my brother or sister gets my favorite seat before I can?
o What if I don’t get what I am really hoping for on my birthday?
o What will keep you unshakeable in circumstances like these? More control?
o No! More trust in God and in His unfailing love! “More Love to Thee, O Christ, More Love to Thee!”
· Now, in v.8, the Psalm turns to consider the enemies of God
v.8 Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.
· I like the way the NIV can be laid side-by-side with the KJV to show more of the range of meaning of the Hebrew text. The Hebrew verb here matza, is rendered “find” in the KJV and “lay hold” and “seize” in the NIV, and all three connotations are accurate: the hand of God will systematically sweep the earth and will “find” or “discover” every enemy in rebellion against Him. But not only will God identify and expose those who hate Him, God will also “seize/lay hold of” them; He will bring them under His control and “pown” them. God can deal with enemies, and when God gets ahold of His enemies, they don’t give any more trouble after that.
v.9 You will position them as [in] a furnace of fire at Your time of appearance. In His anger Yahweh will swallow them up[13], and fire will devour them.
· The second half of this verse uses several words from the story of the Levite’s rebellion against Moses under Korah from Numbers chapter 16. “The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, representatives of the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; and they became a sign.” (Numbers 26:9-10 NKJV) The Levites under Korah were “close” to God, but they tried to usurp Moses and Aaron, and God judged them for it.
· This is a warning for mankind throughout history that there is coming a day of much fuller judgment, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “... it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day...” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10, NKJV)
· The prophet Malachi wrote, “...behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.” (Mal. 4:1 NKJV)
· And the Lord Jesus Himself said, “... if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where 'THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.'” (Mk. 9:47-48 NKJV)
v.10 You will destroy their fruit from the earth and their seed from the sons of Adam.
· The modern English versions do the interpreting for us by rendering the literal Hebrew words for “fruit” and “seed” figuratively as “offspring,” “descendents,” and “posterity.”
· Our culture tends to be so individualistic and oriented toward the here-and-now that we don’t realize what a curse it is to be without children. God does not allow what is corrupt to perpetuate itself indefinitely. Dathan and Abiram’s entire families – and much of Korah’s family – were destroyed by God in the earthquake and fire of His judgment.
· The early psalms often mentioned God “destroying” enemies. God is not just or good if He allows evil to go unpunished.
o Ps. 1:6 “Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish”
o 2:12 “Pay homage without hindrance, otherwise He will become angry and y’all will perish in the way,”
o 9:6 “...You destroyed the wicked – You obliterated their name forever and ever! ...The memory of them perished noisily.” (NAW)
v.11 Because they have extended evil against You; they thought up a scheme they are in no way able [to pull off].
· cf. Psalm 10:2b “...They will be caught in schemes that they thought up”
· I am reminded of the construction of the Tower of Babel. Everybody concocted a plan to stay together in rebellion against God’s command to fill the whole earth. They would build a tower to heaven and supplant God! But they didn’t have the ability to pull it off. God didn’t even let them find out how far they could get before they failed; He split them up by making them into different language groups that couldn’t understand each other anymore and couldn’t work together, and that was the end of the Tower of Babel.
· God’s purposes will be fulfilled on the earth, but the schemes of man will come to naught.
v.12 Because You will position them to the side[14] with Your ropes set [at the ready] over their faces.
· The Hebrew wording of this verse does not say whether the “shoulder/back” belongs to the bad guys or to God. Although all the standard English versions interpreted it as the enemy turning away from God, it could just as well be interpreted as God giving the cold shoulder to them, or pointing His shoulder at the bad guys because that’s the stance than an archer takes, with his dominant shoulder toward the target.
· It makes perfect sense to me to interpret this scenario in terms of the parable of the sheep and the goats, where the ones who love God become “close” to Him in His “presence,” but His enemies remain off to the “side” (as in “cold-shouldered”) and become the object of His punishment: Matthew 25:31ff “Now, whenever the Son of Man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit upon His throne of glory, and all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He separates them from one another, just like a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will stand the sheep off to His right and the goats off to the left. Then the King will say to those off to His right, ‘Come here, you who have been blessed by my father! Start inheriting the kingdom prepared for y’all from the foundation of the world...’” 41 “Then he will speak also to those off to His left, ‘You who have been cursed, continue to conduct yourselves away from me into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels...’” (NAW)
· The wording of this verse is obscure as to exactly what God is doing. All of the eight other times in the O.T. that this Hebrew word maytar occurs, it refers, not to bow-strings but to tent ropes[15]. The picture I get is that of “remnants” of “rope” tied to a tree, with nooses at one end pulled “over the faces” of condemned criminals to hang them. I’m not saying that this is the only way to interpret it – obviously all the standard English versions interpreted it as a drawn bow and arrow. That just as surely ends in death, and is the way enemies died in battle, but on the other hand, those who were sentenced by the Jewish justice system, deserving to die accursed, were hanged.
· Although the Hebrew wording isn’t that clear in its details, the gist still comes through that God will judge His enemies and put them to death.
· Now in the final verse, we switch back to those who trust God and see
v.13 Yahweh, be exalted in Your strength! We will sing and make music about[16] Your might!
· The Psalm ends as it began with an eye to God’s strength. This is in contrast to His enemies who, in v.11 do not have strength or “ability.”
· God stays exalted high above us, so we direct our songs and hymns up to Him.
· The alternative is to hate God and be His enemy, dreading being found out, experiencing His anger, cut off, impotent, and sidelined.
· If that is dreadful to you, then trust in the LORD Jesus Christ and His mercy by which He died on the cross and experienced God’s anger and was forsaken by God in order to pay for your sin.
· Jesus now is that King descended from David in whom all this Psalm is fulfilled. Jesus experiences perfect joy, answered prayer, blessing, eternal life, glory, security, and song, and He will share these things with you if you ask Him to.
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Psalm 21 |
NAW |
KJV |
NKJV |
ESV |
NASB |
NIV |
LXX (20) |
Brenton |
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א לַמְנַצֵּחַ מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד. ב יְהוָה בְּעָזְּךָ יִשְׂמַח מֶלֶךְ וּבִישׁוּעָתְךָ מַה יָּגֶיל[17] מְאֹד. |
1 For the concertmaster. A Psalm belonging to David. Yahweh, it is in Your strength[18] that [the] king will be happy[19], and in Your salvation how very much will he rejoice! |
1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. [The] king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! |
1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. [The] king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! |
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, in your strength [the] king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! |
1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. O LORD, in Your strength [the] king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! |
1 For
the director of music. A psalm of David. O LORD, [the] king rejoices
in your strength. How great |
1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος· ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυιδ. (2) Κύριε, ἐν τῇ δυνάμει σου εὐφρανθήσεται ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ σωτηρίῳ σου X[20] ἀγαλλιάσεται σφόδρα. |
1 For the end, a Psalm of David. O Lord, the king shall rejoice in thy strength; and in thy salvation X he shall greatly exult. |
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ג תַּאֲוַת לִבּוֹ נָתַתָּה לּוֹ וַאֲרֶשֶׁת שְׂפָתָיו בַּל מָנַעְתָּ סֶּלָה. |
2 His heart’s desire[21]
You gave to him, and the expressed-desire[22]
of his lips You in no way withheld. |
2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. |
2 You have given him his heart's desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah |
2 You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah |
2 You have given him his heart's desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. |
2 You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah |
3) τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἔδωκας αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν θέλησιν τῶν χειλέων αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐστέρησας αὐτόν. διάψαλμα. |
2 Thou hast granted him the desire of his soul, and hast not withheld from him the request of his lips. Pause. |
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ד כִּי תְקַדְּמֶנּוּ בִּרְכוֹת טוֹב תָּשִׁית לְרֹאשׁוֹ עֲטֶרֶת פָּז. |
3 Because You welcome[23] him with good blessings[24], You position[25] on his head a crown of fine gold[26]. |
3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. |
3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. |
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head. |
3 For You meet him with [the] blessings of good [things]; You set a crown of fine gold on his head. |
3 X You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. |
4) ὅτι προέφθασας
αὐτὸν ἐν
εὐλογίαις
χρηστότητος,
ἔθηκας ἐπὶ
τὴν κεφαλὴν
αὐτοῦ
στέφανον ἐκ |
3 For thou hast prevented him with blessings
of goodness: thou has set upon his head a crown of |
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ה חַיִּים שָׁאַל מִמְּךָ נָתַתָּה לּוֹ אֹרֶךְ יָמִים עוֹלָם וָעֶד. |
4 It was life that he requested from You. You gave it to him – length[27] of days for ever and ever! |
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. |
4 He asked life from You, and You gave it to him— Length of days forever and ever. |
4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. |
4 He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever. |
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever. |
5) ζωὴν ᾐτήσατό σε, καὶ ἔδωκας αὐτῷ, μακρότητα ἡμερῶν εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος. |
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest him length of days for ever and ever. |
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ו גָּדוֹל כְּבוֹדוֹ בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ הוֹד וְהָדָר תְּשַׁוֶּה עָלָיו. |
5 His glory[28] is great through Your salvation. Splendor and majesty[29] you will level[30] over him. |
5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. |
5 His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him. |
5 His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him. |
5 His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You place upon him. |
5 Through the victor |
6) μεγάλη ἡ δόξα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ σωτηρίῳ σου, δόξαν καὶ μεγαλοπρέπειαν ἐπιθήσεις ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν· |
5 His glory is great in thy salvation: thou wilt crown him with glory and majesty. |
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ז כִּי תְשִׁיתֵהוּ בְרָכוֹת לָעַד תְּחַדֵּהוּ בְשִׂמְחָה אֶת פָּנֶיךָ. |
6 Because You position[31] him for blessings forever, You will make him glad[32] with happiness close to Your face. |
6 For thou hast made him |
6 For You have made him |
6 For you make him |
6 For You make him |
6 Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made
him glad with the joy |
7) ὅτι δώσεις αὐτῷ εὐλογίαν εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος, εὐφρανεῖς αὐτὸν ἐν χαρᾷ μετὰ τοῦ προσώπου σου. |
6 For thou wilt give him a blessing for ever and ever: thou wilt gladden him with joy with thy countenance. |
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ח כִּי הַמֶּלֶךְ בֹּטֵחַ בַּיהוָה וּבְחֶסֶד עֶלְיוֹן בַּל יִמּוֹט. |
7 Because the king is trusting in Yahweh and in[33] the lovingkindness of the Most High, he will in no way be overthrown[34] |
7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. |
7 For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. |
7 For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. |
7 For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken. |
7 For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. |
8) ὅτι ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐλπίζει ἐπὶ κύριον καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐλέει τοῦ ὑψίστου οὐ μὴ σαλευθῇ. |
7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Highest he shall not be moved. |
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ט תִּמְצָא יָדְךָ לְ[35]כָל אֹיְבֶיךָ יְמִינְךָ תִּמְצָא שֹׂנְאֶיךָ. |
8 Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You. |
8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. |
8 Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You. |
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you. |
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you. |
8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. |
9) εὑρε |
8 Let thy hand |
|
י תְּשִׁיתֵמוֹ כְּתַנּוּר אֵשׁ לְעֵת פָּנֶיךָ יְהוָה בְּאַפּוֹ יְבַלְּעֵם וְתֹאכְלֵם אֵשׁ. |
9 You will position them as [in] a furnace[36] of fire at Your time of appearance. In His anger Yahweh will swallow them up[37], and fire will devour[38] them. |
9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. |
9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them. |
9 You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them. |
9 You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; The LORD will swallow them up in His wrath, And fire will devour them. |
9 At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and [his] fire will consume them. |
10) θήσεις
αὐτοὺς ὡς
κλίβανον
πυρὸς εἰς
καιρὸν τοῦ προσώ που σου·
κύριος ἐν
ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ |
9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven at
the time of thy presence: the Lord shall |
|
יא פִּרְיָמוֹ מֵאֶרֶץ תְּאַבֵּד וְזַרְעָם מִבְּנֵי אָדָם. |
10 You will destroy[39] their fruit from the earth and their seed[40] from the sons of Adam. |
10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth,
and their seed
from among the children of m |
10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the
earth, And their descendants
from among the sons of m |
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man. |
10 Their offspring You will destroy from the
earth, And their descendants
from among the sons of m |
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from XX mankind. |
11) τὸν καρπὸν αὐτῶν ἀπὸ γῆς ἀπολεῖς καὶ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτῶν ἀπὸ υἱῶν ἀνθρώπων, |
10 Thou shalt destroy their fruit from the earth, and their seed from among the sons of men. |
|
יב כִּי נָטוּ עָלֶיךָ רָעָה חָשְׁבוּ מְזִמָּה[41] בַּל יוּכָלוּ. |
11 Because they have extended evil against You; they thought up a scheme[42] they are in no way able [to pull off]. |
11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. |
11 For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform. |
11 Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. |
11 Though they intended evil against You And devised a plot, They will not succeed. |
11 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked scheme |
12) ὅτι ἔκλιναν εἰς σὲ κακά, διελογίσαντο βουλήν, ἣν οὐ μὴ δύνωνται [στῆσαι]. |
11 For they intended evils against thee; they imagined a device which they shall by no means be able [to perform]. |
|
יג כִּי תְּשִׁיתֵמוֹ שֶׁכֶם בְּמֵיתָרֶיךָ תְּכוֹנֵן עַל פְּנֵיהֶם. |
12 Because You will position them to the side[43] with Your ropes[44] set [at the ready] over their faces. |
12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn [their] back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. |
12 Therefore You will make them turn [their] back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your stringX toward their faces. |
12 For you will put them |
12 For You will make them turn [their] back; You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces. |
12 for you will make them turn [their]
back |
13) ὅτι θήσεις αὐτοὺς νῶτον· ἐν τοῖς περιλοίποις σου ἑτοιμάσεις τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν. |
12 For thou shalt make them turn their back in thy latter endX, thou wilt prepare their face. |
|
יד רוּמָה יְהוָה בְּעֻזֶּךָ נָשִׁירָה וּנְזַמְּרָה גְּבוּרָתֶךָ. |
13 Yahweh, be exalted in Your strength[46]! We will sing and make music about[47] Your might! |
13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine [own] strength: so will we sing and praise thy power. |
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your [own] strength! We will sing and praise Your power. |
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power. |
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; We will sing and praise Your power. |
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might. |
14) ὑψώθητι, κύριε, ἐν τῇ δυνάμει σου· ᾄσομεν καὶ ψαλοῦμεν τὰς δυναστείας[48] σου. |
13 Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy strength: we will sing and praise thy mighty acts. |
[1] cf. v.13 – chiastic framing. Also Psalm 8:2 is the last time we saw this word in the Psalms: “From lips of children and nursing infants You founded strength because of Your adversaries to put to rest enemy and avenger.” (NAW)
[2] I am reminded of Hannah’s prayer for a son in 1 Sam. 1, and Solomon’s request for wisdom in 1 Kings 3, which were not withheld. cf. Ps. 10:17 It is the desires of the lowly ones that You, Yahweh heeded. You will cause their heart to stand firm; You will cause Your ear to be attentive. (Remember, the wicked man had “desires” too – the same Hebrew word is in 10:3, but they were “selfish desires,” and the wicked man boasted of that and trash-talked God. God didn’t pay much attention to the wicked man’s desires; God just caused him to perish from off the face of the earth so that not even his name was remembered.)
[3] Hapex legomenon. Its verbal form always means “betrothed” so the link could be the way we often say that an unmarried woman is “spoken for” if a man has expressed interest in marrying her.
[4] Qal form doesn’t exist in the O.T. for this verb, so its Piel stem is not considered intensive. It literally means to “come before.” We saw it in the adversarial sense of “confront” in Psalm 17:13 & 18:5&13, but here it is a friendly coming out to greet with blessings. This is followed by a coronation scene.
[5] See also v.6. The only other time this phrase barcat tov appears in the O.T. is Proverbs 24:25 “But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.” (NKJV)
[6] This corroborates with Josephus and with the LXX reading here of “precious stone” instead of “fine gold.”
[7] This verb literally means to make level or even.
[8] cf. Psalms 96:6 Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” Psalm 104:1 “...O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty” Psalm 111:3 “His work is honorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever.” (NKJV) compare to N.T. Jude 1:25 “To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.” 2 Peter 1:17 “He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” 1 Timothy 1:17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
[9] atarah –see 21:3
[10] The NIV follows the LXX which rendered this Hebrew verb with a didwmi verb “give,” and that conveys what’s going on adequately, but most other English versions combine this verb with the object “blessings” (and “blessings” is plural in Hebrew, so the NIV followed the Hebrew text accurately there by rendering “blessings” plural, despite the fact that the LXX makes “blessing” singular – although I don’t think that the grammar of the Hebrew word l’ad lends itself to being an adjective of the word “blessings” the way the NIV rendered it “eternal blessings;” I think “blessings forever” is more accurate to the Hebrew grammar.) This construction of sit + brk does not occur anywhere else in the O.T., so I do not know where they got the idea that it should be translated with a special meaning, “make most blessed,” which means more than the words themselves, seeing as sit is not Hiphil (causative) but Qal, and seeing there is no superlative (“most”) here in the Hebrew text.
[11] There are only two other occurrences of this verb in the O.T.: Exodus 18:9 (Jethro rejoiced when he saw Israel) and Job 3:6 (night gladdens days), and both of those are in the Qal stem, not the Piel stem as it is in this psalm. BDB seems to interpret the Piel as causative for this word. Incidentally, as a noun, it is only found in 1 Chronicles 16:27 and Nehemiah 8:10, both attributing the source of gladness to God.
[12] I am electing to translate the two beth prefixes (בַּיהוָה וּבְחֶסֶד) in the same way, both as locative prepositions describing the object of David’s faith. Together with the causal beginning of this verse, this makes the whole verse one thought instead of two – David trusts “in” the personal God, specifically, he trusts “in” that God’s “mercy/lovingkindness/ steadfast, unfailing love” (cf. Ps. 13:5). To split the verse into two parallel phrases – as the other English versions have done – requires interpreting the second beth preposition differently from the first one, namely as an instrumental preposition (“through”) or even as a causal particle (“because of”) which would not be theologically inaccurate, but I question if it is grammatically accurate.
[13] The Hebrew verb for “swallow” is in the Piel stem, so it is intensive. The Qal form is rendered “swallow,” so imagine something more intense than that!
[14] Over 80% of the time this Hebrew word shekem appears, it refers to carrying something over your shoulder, and the rest of the time, its uses are comparable to our English phrase about “turning a cold shoulder.” Back in Psalm 7, we saw a picture of God executing a just death-sentence at the firing range, “11. God is one who judges righteously, and God is one who pronounces curses during every day. Since He does not turn back, He will whet His sword; He will bend His bow and set it [at the ready]. And for His [use] He caused to be set [at the ready] deadly weapons – He worked up His arrows for those who are persecutors.” (NAW) The Hebrew wording here in Psalm 21:12 does not necessarily mean that the enemy is running away while God unfairly shoots him in the back.
[15] – especially the ropes used to support the tabernacle. (Unless you also count the 5 times this word is used to refer to a “remnant” of an ethnic group - Leviticus 14:17; Deuteronomy 3:11; Joshua 12:4; 13:12; 2 Samuel 21:2)
[16] The ending of this Psalm is very similar to the ending of Psalm 18, which also speaks of victory over enemies, God being “exalted” and David “making music” in celebration. The Piel stem does not appear to have special significance, however, the paragogic He endings on the two Imperfect verbs “Sing” and “hymn” could be taken directionally: God stays exalted high above us, so we direct our songs and hymns up to Him.
[17] The Kere suggests omitting the final yod, but it makes absolutely no difference in meaning – both spellings are Qal Impf. 3ms
[18] cf. v.13 – chiastic framing. Also Psalm 8:2 is the last time we saw this word in the Psalms: “From lips of children and nursing infants You founded strength because of Your adversaries to put to rest enemy and avenger.” (NAW) Note that “strength” is in parallel with “salvation” here, and how often “rejoicing” is in the context of “salvation” in the Psalms (see footnote #2).
[19] cf. 2:11 “Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice [giyl] with trembling” 5:11 Meanwhile, all refugees in You will be happy, they will sing out forever... and lovers of Your name will exult [alatz] in You!” 9:2 “I will be happy and exuberant [alatz] in You. I will play music about Your preeminent Name,” 9:14 “that I may recount all Your praises within the gates of the daughter of Zion, [and] rejoice [giyl] in Your salvation.” 13:5 But as for me, it is in Your lovingkindness that I have trusted. My heart will rejoice [giyl] in Your salvation 14:7b When Yahweh turns back His people’s captivity, Jacob will rejoice [giyl]; Israel will be happy” 16:8 “I have kept Yahweh dead-level in front of me always, because I will never be overthrown from my right hand. 9. Therefore my heart has been happy and my glory has been rejoicing [giyl]. Moreover, my flesh will settle down confidently,” 19:8a “Yahweh’s accountabilities are heart-rejoicing-ly [samech] right...” (NAW) Also reminds me of 2 Samuel 6:12-15”...David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness... he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the LORD with all his might... David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet...” (NKJV)
[20] The Syriac also omits the interrogative. It is awkward with the interrogative, so the omission is easy to understand.
[21] cf. Ps. 10:17 It is the desires of the lowly ones that You, Yahweh heeded. You will cause their heart to stand firm; You will cause Your ear to be attentive. (Remember, the wicked man had “desires” too – the same Hebrew word is in 10:3, but they were “selfish desires,” and the wicked man boasted of that and trash-talked God. God didn’t pay much attention to the wicked man’s desires; God just caused him to perish from off the face of the earth so that not even his name was remembered.)
[22] Hapex legomenon. Its verbal form always means “betrothed” so the link could be the way we often say that an unmarried woman is “spoken for” if a man has expressed interest in marrying her. Reminds me of Psalm 27:4 “One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.” (NASB) Also of Hannah’s prayer for a son in 1 Sam. 1, and Solomon’s request for wisdom in 1 Kings 3, which were not withheld. This is consistent with the New Testament: Jesus said, “...everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:10 NKJV) and John wrote, “Loved ones, if [our] heart is not condemning, we can have an open conversation directly with God. And whatever we are requesting, we are receiving from Him, because we are keeping His commands and we are doing the acceptable things before Him.” (1 John 3:21-22, NAW)
[23] Qal form doesn’t exist in the OT for this verb, so it’s Piel stem is not considered intensive. It literally means to “come before.” We saw it in the adversarial sense of “confront” in Psalm 17:13 & 18:5&13, but here it is a friendly coming out to greet with blessings. This is followed by a coronation scene. The crown is given to the king at the very beginning of his reign, so perhaps the second half of this verse relates to the first half of this verse in terms of a welcoming which “pre-vents” or “goes before” the king’s reign along with blessings for the prosperity of his reign. In the causal phrases introduced in v.3-4 and again in vs. 6-7 we see God’s action to bless the king in v.3 next to a description of what the king did to get that blessing. In v.1, the king made a request with his lips, expressing his heart desire to God, namely in v.4 asking God for life. Throughout the Psalms we see this interplay of David asking and God blessing.
[24] See also v.6. The only other time this phrase barcat tov appears in the O.T. is Proverbs 24:25 “But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.” (NKJV) The root meaning of the Hebrew word barak “bless” is “to kneel.” It paints a picture of showing special honor, stopping what you’re doing, paying attention, giving a gift, and imparting words of blessing and hope for the future. Could this be David speaking of King Solomon? The answered prayer, the rejoicing at installing the worship of God in Jerusalem, the covenantal succession, and the Divine blessing all seem to fit with 2 Samuel 7:27-29, “For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.” (NKJV)
[25] This word “set” seems to be intentionally repeated at verse 3,6,9, and 12. It usually gets translated with different English words, but I think it’s repetitions mark out the progression of this psalm. The first speaks of the position of blessings in relation to the king who trusts in God and the second of the position of the king in relation to God Himself and His blessings. Then in v.9, the word occurs to speak of the placement of the enemies of God in the fiery furnace of hell and finally in v.12, according to my interpretation, of the enemies relation to God Himself as being placed unfavorably off to His side and executed. This progression highlights the contrast between those saved by God and those who are enemies of God, and shows that their blessings or curses are all a result of their relationship toward God.
[26] Psalm 8:5 has already mentioned that God “crowned” תעטרהו a man with glory and honor. 2 Samuel 1 mentions the literal “crown” of king Saul conveyed to David from the battlefield after Saul’s death. Then 2 Samuel 12 mentions Joab and David conquering Rabbah, and after its downfall, the crown of Hanun, king of Rabbah was placed on David’s head. That crown is described as being a “talent” – either in gold value or in weight. According to John Gill’s commentary, it either contained a very precious sardonyx stone which was as valuable as 100 pounds of gold (this corroborates with Josephus and with the LXX reading here of “precious stone” instead of “fine gold”), or the crown was actually 100 pounds gold. At $1,150.00 per ounce today, that’s about $1.8 million dollars! Cf. Ps. 19 – God’s law is even more to be desired than a large quantity of this “fine gold.”
[27] cf. Psalm 23:6 “Surely good and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD to length of days.” (NAW) Although there is no explicit indication that Psalm 91 was by David, many Bible scholars attribute it to him. If he is indeed the author, then Psalm 91:14-16 might furnish the exact quote which God gave David through a prophet, "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." (NKJV) This, together with the covenant God made with David in 2 Sam 7 explain this Psalm – that God promised David long life as well as the extension of his life in a dynasty of kings in Jerusalem, physically descended from him, which would not die out but would rather result in a descendent, Jesus, who will be king forever, because He is divine.
[29] cf. 8:5 “You make him a little lower than God and crown [atarah –see 21:3] him with glory [cvd] and majesty [hadar]” Psalms 96:6 Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” Psalm 104:1 “...O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty” Psalm 111:3 “His work is honorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever.” (NKJV) compare to N.T. Jude 1:25 “To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.” Revelation 5:12 "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 2 Peter 1:17 “He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” 1 Timothy 1:17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
[30] This verb literally means to make level or even. The picture seems to me that God will raise the status of this king such that splendor and majesty are no longer out of reach and above his status but now he has that status – he’s now swimming in splendor and majesty. Instrumental in that process was Psalm 16:8, David setting his sights dead-level on God at his right hand so that he wouldn’t be moved and Psalm 18:33 where God transformed David to be suitable for splendor and majesty, like the feet of a deer are suitable for running around on high mountains. It is God who does it all!
[31] This is the second iteration of the word seet “place/position.” The first occurrence was v.3, where a crown was “positioned” on the king’s head. Now he is put “in position for blessings.” The NIV follows the LXX which rendered this Hebrew verb with a didwmi verb “give,” and that conveys what’s going on adequately, but most other English versions combine this verb with the object “blessings” (and “blessings” is plural in Hebrew, so the NIV followed the Hebrew text accurately there by rendering “blessings” plural, despite the fact that the LXX makes “blessing” singular – although I don’t think that the grammar of the Hebrew word l’ad lends itself to being an adjective of the word “blessings” the way the NIV rendered it “eternal blessings;” I think “blessings forever” is more accurate to the Hebrew grammar.) This construction of sit + brk does not occur anywhere else in the O.T., so I do not know where they got the idea that it should be translated with a special meaning, “make most blessed,” which means more than the words themselves, seeing as sit is not Hiphil (causative) but Qal, and seeing there is no superlative (“most”) here in the Hebrew text.
[32] There are only two other occurrences of this verb in the O.T.: Exodus 18:9 (Jethro rejoiced when he saw Israel) and Job 3:6 (night gladdens days), and both of those are in the Qal stem, not the Piel stem as it is in this psalm. BDB seems to interpret the Piel as causative for this word. Incidentally, as a noun, it is only found in 1 Chronicles 16:27 and Nehemiah 8:10, both attributing the source of gladness to God. Taking the two phrases of this verse together, the “position” that the king will be placed in will be a spot “near” God’s “face” or “with” God’s “presence.” All blessings flow from God, so the king will be right close to God, in a position to catch every blessing that pours forth from Him! One of those blessings – and therefore one of the fruits of the spirit – is “joy/gladness/happiness.” Being so close to God’s presence will result in great joy. Do you want to be more joyful? Try asking for this! Verse 6 expounded on what God does to make the king happy and blessed; now verse 7 will describe what the king does: he trusts. This was the heart of Psalm 13 when joy was at a low ebb for David: “Now, as for me, it is in Your lovingkindness that I have trusted. My heart will rejoice in Your salvation.” (Ps. 13:5, NAW)
[33] I am electing to translate the two beth prefixes (בַּיהוָה וּבְחֶסֶד) in the same way, both as locative prepositions describing the object of David’s faith. Together with the causal beginning of this verse, this makes the whole verse one thought instead of two – David trusts “in” the personal God, specifically, he trusts “in” that God’s “mercy/lovingkindness/ steadfast, unfailing love” (cf. Ps. 13:5). To split the verse into two parallel phrases – as the other English versions have done – requires interpreting the second beth preposition differently from the first one, namely as an instrumental preposition (“through”) or even as a causal particle (“because of”) which would not be theologically inaccurate, but I question if it is grammatically accurate.
[34] David had a very real reason to be concerned about being “overthrown/moved/shaken/toppled” – he has already mentioned this fear in Psalm 10, 13, 15, 16, and 17, using this same word. What will keep him in control? More horses and more chariots? No, “we will trust in the name of the Lord,” Yahweh (Ps. 20:7), and “I will trust in His chesed-love” (Psalm 13:5), and our God will keep things under control, “working all things together for good for those who love Him” (Romans 8:28). Most of us don’t have to worry about insurgents and coup d’états, but we do have occasion to worry about things getting out of control: Will the bottom drop out of the economy? How is the next war going to affect me? What if laws get passed that are unjust? Is my spouse going to be unfaithful? Will I ever find a spouse? What if I lose my job? What if nobody wants to hire me? What if my kids rebel? What if I don’t get what I am really hoping for for my birthday? What will keep you unshakeable in circumstances like these? More control? No! More trust in God and in His unfailing love. “More Love to Thee, More Love to Thee!”
[35] Davidson’s 6th definition for this particle is that of marking out an accusative, which is the sense in which the LXX and most English versions take it. The NIV uses one of the more specialized meanings of the verb matza to be able to render this particle with its more common grammatical usage of a preposition, although “on” is not the usual meaning of the preposition, but rather “to/toward/for.” Nevertheless, I like the way the NIV can be laid side-by-side with the KJV to show more of the range of meaning of the Hebrew text. The Hebrew verb here matza, is rendered “find” in the KJV and “lay hold” and “seize” in the NIV, and both connotations of meaning are accurate: the hand of God will systematically sweep the earth and will “find” or “discover” every enemy in rebellion against Him. Not only will God “identify and expose those who hate Him, God will also “lay hold of” them, He will bring them under His control and “pown” them. God can deal with enemies, and when God gets ahold of His enemies, they don’t give any more trouble after that.
[36] cf. “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.” (Malachi 4:1 NKJV) “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where 'THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.'” (Mark 9:47-48, NKJV)
[37] The Hebrew verb for “swallow” is in the Piel stem, so it is intensive. The Qal form is rendered “swallow,” so imagine something more intense than that!
[38] The second half of this verse uses several words from the story of the Levite’s rebellion against Moses under Korah from Numbers chapter 16. “The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, representatives of the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; and they became a sign.” (Numbers 26:9-10 NKJV) The Levites under Korah were “close” to God, but they tried to usurp Moses and Aaron, and God judged them for it. This is a warning for mankind throughout history that there is coming a day of much fuller judgment, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “... it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day...” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 NKJV)
[39] The early psalms often mentioned God “destroying” enemies. God is not just or good if He allows evil to go unpunished. Psalm 1:6 “Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish” 2:12 “Pay homage without hindrance, otherwise He will become angry and y’all will perish in the way,” 5:5-6 “...You have hated all workers of iniquity. You will destroy speakers of falsehood; a man of bloodshed and deceit Yahweh will abhor.” 9:3-6 “...my enemies turn back. They will stumble and perish before Your face, For You effected my justice and my adjudication; You sat on the bench, judging righteously. You repulsed nations; You destroyed the wicked – You obliterated their name forever and ever! ...The memory of them perished noisily.”
[40] The modern English versions do the interpreting for us by rendering the literal Hebrew words for “fruit” and “seed” figuratively as “offspring,” “descendents,” and “posterity.” Our culture tends to be so individualistic and oriented toward the here-and-now that we don’t realize what a curse it is to be without children. God does not allow what is corrupt to perpetuate itself indefinitely. Dathan and Abiram’s entire families - and much of Korah’s family - were destroyed by God in the earthquake and fire of His judgment.
[41] The Vulgate makes this plural, but the LXX does not. Kittel says that there are Hebrew, Chaldee, and Greek manuscripts with a plural form, as well. No big deal.
[42] cf. Psalm 10:2b “...They will be caught in schemes that they thought up” I am reminded of the construction of the Tower of Babel. Everybody concocted a plan to stay together in rebellion against God’s command to fill the whole earth. They would build a tower to heaven and supplant God! But they didn’t have the ability to pull it off. God didn’t even let them find out how far they could get before they failed; He split them up by making them into different language groups that couldn’t understand each other anymore and couldn’t work together, and that was the end of the Tower of Babel.
[43] Over 80% of the time this Hebrew word shekem appears, it refers to carrying something over your shoulder, and the rest of the time, its uses are comparable to our English phrase about “turning a cold shoulder.” Back in Psalm 7, we saw a picture of God executing a just death-sentence at the firing range, “11. God is one who judges righteously, and God is one who pronounces curses during every day. Since He does not turn back, He will whet His sword; He will bend His bow and set it [at the ready]. And for His [use] He caused to be set [at the ready] deadly weapons – He worked up His arrows for those who are persecutors.” (NAW) The Hebrew wording here in Psalm 21:12 does not necessarily mean that the enemy is running away while God unfairly shoots him in the back. Furthermore, the Hebrew wording of this verse does not say whether the “shoulder/back” belongs to the bad guys or to God. Although all the standard English versions interpreted it as the enemy turning away from God, it could just as well be interpreted as God giving the cold shoulder to them, or pointing His shoulder at the bad guys because that’s the stance than an archer takes, with his dominant shoulder toward the target. It makes perfect sense to me to interpret this scenario in terms of the parable of the sheep and the goats, where the ones who love God become “close” to Him in His “presence,” but His enemies remain off to the “side” (as in cold-shouldered) and become the object of His punishment: Matthew 25:31ff “Now, whenever the Son of Man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit upon His throne of glory, and all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He separates them from one another, just like a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will stand the sheep off to His right and the goats off to the left. Then the King will say to those off to His right, ‘Come here, you who have been blessed by my father! Start inheriting the kingdom prepared for y’all from the foundation of the world...’” 41 “Then he will speak also to those off to His left, ‘You who have been cursed, continue to conduct yourselves away from me into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels...’” (NAW)
[44] The wording of this verse is obscure as to exactly what God is doing. All of the eight other times in the O.T. that this Hebrew word maytar occurs, it refers, not to bow-strings but to tent ropes – especially the ropes used to support the tabernacle. (Unless you also count the 5 times this word is used to refer to a “remnant” of an ethnic group - Leviticus 14:17; Deuteronomy 3:11; Joshua 12:4; 13:12; 2 Samuel 21:2). The picture I get is that of “remnants” of “rope” tied to a tree, with nooses at one end pulled “over the faces” of condemned criminals to hang them. I’m not saying that this is the only way to interpret it – obviously all the standard English versions interpreted it as a drawn bow and arrow. That just as surely ends in death, and is the way enemies died in battle, but on the other hand, those who were sentenced by the Jewish justice system, deserving to die accursed, were hanged. I’m just saying that the Hebrew wording (and, for that matter, the Greek wording in the Septuagint) isn’t that clear in its details, but the gist still comes through that God will see to it that His enemies are put to death.
[45] Perhaps the NIV & ESV are following the Cairo manuscript, which makes this word singular.
[46] The Psalm ends as it began with an eye to God’s strength. This is in contrast to His enemies who, in v.11 do not have strength or “ability.”
[47] The ending of this Psalm is very similar to the ending of Psalm 18, which also speaks of victory over enemies, God being “exalted” and David “making music” in celebration. The Piel stem does not appear to have special significance, however, the paragogic He endings on the two Imperfect verbs “Sing” and “hymn” could be taken directionally: God stays exalted high above us, so we direct our songs and hymns up to Him.
[48] Kittel notes that several Hebrew manuscripts including Cairo also make this word plural. Not a big change in meaning, but the plural could be used to reference multiple acts throughout history.