Psalm 47:5-9 – The Gathering Of The Nations To Worship Christ

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 30 July 2023

vs. 5-6 God as Heralded Royalty

vs. 7-8 God’s Worldwide, Pan-ethnic Dominion

v. 9 The people assembled to exalt God.

Conclusion

Psalm 47 – Side-by side comparison of versionsA

LXXB
(Ps. 46)

Brenton (Vaticanus)C

Vulgate (Ps. 46)D

KJVE

NASBF

NIVG

ESVH

NAW

Masoretic TxtI

PeshittaJ

1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος· ὑπὲρ τῶν υἱῶν Κορε ψαλμός.
2 Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, κροτή­σατε χεῖρας, ἀλα­λάξατε τῷ θεῷ ἐν φωνῇ ἀγαλ­λιά­σεως,

1 For the end, a Psalm for the sons of Core.
Clap
[your] hands, all ye nations; shout to God with a voice of exultation.

1 in finem pro filiis Core psalmus
2 omnes gentes plaudite manibus iubilate Deo in voce exultationis

1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
O clap
[your] hands, all ye peopleX; shout unto God with [the] voice of triumph.

1 For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
O clap
[your] hands, all peoples; Shout to God with [the] voice of joy.

1 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Clap
[your] hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.

1 To the choir­master. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Clap [your] hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!

1 For the concertmaster, by the sons of Korah. A psalm.
All you peoples:
Clap your hands; cheer for God with a sound of singing,

א לַמְנַצֵּחַ לִבְנֵי קֹרַח מִזְמוֹר.
ב כָּל הָעַמִּים תִּקְעוּK כָף הָרִיעוּL לֵאלֹהִים בְּקוֹל רִנָּהM.





2
כולכוןN עממא קושׁו כפא ושׁבחו לאלהא בקלא דשׁובחא

3 ὅτι κύριος ὕψιστος φοβερός, βασιλεὺς μέγας ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν.

2 For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great king over all the earth.

3 quoniam Dominus excelsus terribilis rex magnus super omnem terram

2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.

2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth.

2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!

2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.

2 because Yahweh the Most-High is to be respected. He is the great king over all the earth!

ג כִּי יְהוָה עֶלְיוֹן נוֹרָאO מֶלֶךְP גָּדוֹל עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ.

3 מטל דמריא מרימא ודחילא הויו מלכא רבא על כלה ארעא

4 ὑπέταξεν λαοὺς X ἡμῖν καὶ ἔθνη ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ἡμῶν·

3 He has subdued the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.

4 subiecit populos X nobis et gentes sub pedibus nostris

3 He shall subdue the peopleX under us, and the nations under our feet.

3 He subdues peoples under us And nations under our feet.

3 He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.

3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.

3 He decrees peoples to be beneath us, and nationalities to beneath our feet.

ד יַדְבֵּרQ עַמִּים תַּחְתֵּינוּR וּלְאֻמִּיםS תַּחַת רַגְלֵינוּ.

4 דשׁעבד לן עממא תחותין ואמותא תחות רגלין

5 ἐξελέξατο ἡμῖν τὴν κληρονομ­ίαν αὐτοῦT, τὴν καλλονὴν Ιακωβ, ἣν ἠγάπησεν. διάψαλμα.

4 He has chosen out his inheritance for us, the beauty of Jacob which he loved. Pause.

5 elegit nobis hereditatem suam speciem Iacob quam dilexit diapsalma

4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.

4 He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah

4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

4 He chooses for us to be His inheritance, the majesty of Jacob whom He loves. Selah

ה יִבְחַר לָנוּ אֶת נַחֲלָתֵנוּU אֶת גְּאוֹן יַעֲקֹב אֲשֶׁר אָהֵבV סֶלָהW.

5 אגבין ירתותה ואיקרה דיעקוב דרחם X

6 ἀνέβη ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἀλαλαγμῷ, κύριος ἐν φωνῇ σάλπιγγος.

5 God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with a sound of a trumpet.

6 ascendit Deus in iubilo Dominus in voce tubae

5 God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

5 God has ascended with a shout, The LORD, with the sound of a trumpet.

5 God has ascended amid shout[s of joy], the LORD amid the sounding of trumpet[s].

5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

5 Yahweh-God went up with fanfare - with the sound of a shofar-horn!

ו עָלָה אֱלֹהִים בִּתְרוּעָה יְהֹוָה בְּקוֹל שׁוֹפָרX.

6 סלק אלהא בשׁובחאY מריא בקלא דקרנא

7 ψάλατε τῷ θεῷ [ἡμῶν], ψάλατε, ψάλατε τῷ βασιλεῖ ἡμῶν, ψάλατε,

6 Sing praises to [our] God, sing praises: sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 psallite Deo [nostro] psallite psallite regi nostro psallite

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; Sing praises to our King, sing praises.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

6 Make music for God; make music! Make music for our King! Make music,

ז זַמְּרוּZ אֱלֹהִים זַמֵּרוּ זַמְּרוּ לְמַלְכֵּנוּ זַמֵּרוּ.

7 זמרו לאלהא בשׁובחא זמרו למלכן X

8 ὅτι βασιλεὺς πάσης τῆς γῆς ὁ θεός, ψάλατε συνετῶςAA.

7 For God is king of all the earth: sing praises with under­standing.

8 quoniam rex omnis terrae Deus psallite sapienter

7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with under­standing.

7 For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with a skillful psalm.

7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.

7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!

7 because God is the King of all the earth! Make music thoughtfully.

ח כִּי מֶלֶךְ כָּל הָאָרֶץ אֱלֹהִים זַמְּרוּ מַשְׂכִּילBB.

8 מטל דמלכא דכלה ארעא אלהא הו זמרו לה שׁובחא

9 ἐβασίλευ­σεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τὰ ἔθνη, ὁ θεὸς κάθηται ἐπὶ θρόνου ἁγίου αὐτοῦ.

8 God reigns over the nations: God sits upon the throne of his holiness.

9 regnavit Deus super gentes Deus sedit super sedem sanctam suam

8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.

8 God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.

8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.

8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

8 God has become king over the nations; it is God who sits upon the throne of His holiness.

ט מָלַךְCC אֱלֹהִים עַל גּוֹיִם אֱלֹהִים יָשַׁב עַל כִּסֵּא קָדְשׁוֹ.

9 אמלך אלהא על עממא אלהא יתב על כורסיה קדישׁאDD

10 ἄρχοντες λαῶν συνήχθησαν μετὰEE τοῦ θεοῦ Αβρααμ, ὅτι τοῦ θεοῦ οἱ κραταιοὶFF τῆς γῆς, σφόδρα ἐπήρθησαν.

9 The rulers of the people are assembled with the God of Abraam: for God's mighty ones of the earth have been greatly exalted.

10 principes populorum congregati sunt cum Deo Abraham quoniam Dei fortes terrae vehementer elevati sunt

9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

9 The prin­ces of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the God of Abraham, For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.

9 The nobles of the nations assemble [as] the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

9 The princes of the peoples gather [as] the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!

9 The noblemen of the peoples have been gathered together with the God of Abraham, because the military-offficers of the land belong to God. He is greatly exalted.

י נְדִיבֵי עַמִּים נֶאֱסָפוּ עַםGG אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם כִּי לֵאלֹהִים מָגִנֵּיHH אֶרֶץ מְאֹד נַעֲלָה.

10 שׁליטנא דעממא אתפנוII לות אלהה דאברהם מטל דדאלהא אנוןJJ אוחדניה דארעא וטב אתתרים


1John Gill noted that even the Jewish commentary, Bemidbar Rabba, s. 15. fol. 218. 1, saw this as a Messianic prophecy.

2Other Bible verses which use the word “shield” to represent a “soldier” are Judges 5:8, 2 Kings 19:32, 1 Chron. 5:18, 2 Chron. 14:8, 17:17, Psalm 76:3, Proverbs 6:11. It seems to represent a “ruler” in Hosea 4:18 and Psalm 89:19.

AMy original chart includes the NASB, NIV, and ESV, but their copyright restrictions force me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scroll containing Psalm 47 is 4Q83 Psalmsa, which contains only a fragment of v.1 (highlighted in purple). Where the DSS or Vulgate and Peshitta support the LXX with text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English. Where the Peshitta adds words, I greyed out those words.

BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, and UBS editions are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era as a break from the traditional Greek Bible by compiling just a few of the oldest-known manuscripts, but even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.

CEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851. “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published electronically by E-Sword.

DJerome's Latin Vulgate w/ Deuterocanon using Gallican Psalter, 405 AD. As published electronically by E-Sword.

E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword.

FScripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

GScripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

HScripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

IFrom the Wiki Hebrew Bible https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%9E%D7%96/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA .
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com/pdf/dead_sea_scrolls/DSS_-_4Q83Psalmsa.pdf

JThe Leiden Peshitta, Copyright © 2012 by The Peshitta Foundation c/o Leiden University Institute for Religious Studies, as published electronically in BibleWorks. I have greyed out words that are added to the MT text and colored orange words which are different from the MT.

KBasic meaning is to hit/strike/pitch something so that it goes into something else, whether a tent-peg going into the ground, a peg for hanging things on a wall, or a weapon into a man’s body, or a trumpet-blast that enters the consciousness of persons, or a striking of hands that seals a contract and binds business parties together. Most of the incidences of this word in the Bible refer to “blowing” a horn, but, of the five other passages which mention “hands” along with this verb, four (Job 17:3, Prov. 6:1, 17:28, 22:26) put this phrase in synonymous parallelism with the verb ערב bind in pledge, become surety,” and the fifth is in Nahum 3:19 “Your injury has no healing, Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you Will clap their hands over you, For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?” (KJV)
“Hands” appears with other verbs also translated “clap” in Psalm 98:8 and Isa. 55:12 (both of which use the synonym מחה for “clap” in parallel with “shout for joy” רנן), and in 2 Kings 11:12 (the synonym נכה for “clap” in parallel with “saying ‘Long live the king’” ) There is much similarity here to Psalm 98.

LThis kind of “cheering” occurs in three contexts in the Bible: 1) Religious (1 Sam. 4:5 – when the ark entered the camp, Ezra 3:11 – when the temple foundation was finished), 2) Political (1 Sam. 10:24 – at a coronation, cf. 2 Ki. 11:12), and 3) Military (1 Samuel 17:20 - cheering about the battle, Psalm 41:12 – not getting to cheer in victory)

MThe previous two uses of this noun referred to singing: Psalm 30:5 & 42:4 (cf. 118:15 and Isa. 14:7; 35:10; 44:23; 48:20 – one of the three other passages in the Bible which uses the same phrase “sound of singing”; 49:13; 51:11; 54:1; 55:12).

NPeshitta reads “all you peoples” instead of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin “all the peoples.” The definite article can be interpreted pronomially, however, so the Peshitta is not wrong, and that is also how the KJV and NIV interpreted it.

OKJV and NIV follow the Syriac, Septuagint, and Vulgate in translating this participle as an attributive adjective in parallel with “most high,” but NASB and ESV interpret it as a verb in the chain of imperatives from the previous verse. Either is a reasonable interpretation.

PKJV, NASB, and ESV attempt to carry over the absence of a definite article before “king” in the Hebrew with the English indefinite article “a,” but when a king reigns over “all the earth,” there is only one such king, and it is appropriate to use the definite article “the” to describe Him, as the NIV did. KJV, Brenton, and ESV start the sentence with “He is” which is explicitly in the Peshitta, but merely implicit in the Hebrew grammar.

QThis verb (and the next which opens v.4) is in the Hebrew Imperfect tense, normally translated into the English Present or Future tense, but the Peshitta, Vulgate, Septuagint, NIV, and ESV all translate it as though it were Perfect/Aorist/Past tense. I would agree if it were in a chain with a perfect-tense verb, but it follows two imperatives and a participle, and seems to start a new direction of thought, so I see no grammatical reason to translate it in the past tense. Keil & Delitzsch’s reason for translating it in past tense was particularly weak (“choosing is … not a continued act, we are therefore driven to regard the futures... as a statement of historical facts”). Interpreting it as future is ruled out by logic, which leaves the habitual sense of the imperfect as the most likely interpretation. Calvin preferred to interpret it “set in order” (range in his native French); Matthew Henry explained it as “bring in.”

RCf. same phrase in Psalm 18:47 “This God is the One who deals out retributions for me and decrees [most English translations read “subdues”] peoples to be under me,” (NAW) It is the only other place where this Hebrew verb DBR is in the Hiphil stem, and it is the only other place in the O.T. where this word (the root meaning of which is to “speak”) is commonly translated “subdue” in English versions. It appears to me that English translators have transferred the prepositional phrase “under me/us” to the meaning of the verb and ignored its original meaning. The harm is not great, but it does appear to be somewhat careless.

SThis word is less-common than its synonyms עַמִּים (used synonymously here and Gen. 27:29, Ps. 7:7, etc) and גוים (used synonymously in Gen 25:23, Ps. 44:2, etc.), and all 3 occur synonymously in Psalm 67. TWOT explained its distinctive meaning in terms “togetherness, i.e. the common people considered as a whole... definable groups.” Gerald Wilson defined it as “heritage.”

TAquilla and Symmachus both translated ημων (“of us”) instead of “of Him,” demonstrating that the MT variant was around as early as the second century A.D., but the Vulgate and Peshitta both read “of him.”

UThe Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Syriac versions read “chosen us to be his inheritance” instead of the MT “chosen for us our inheritance.” This would mean interpreting the penultimate nun as euphonic rather than as part of the pronomial suffix, both common functions of that Hebrew letter. The only other verse in the Bible which contains this Hebrew verb bhr and noun nhl is Psalm 33:12 “... He chose for an inheritance for Himself!” The NT does not contain this combination of the Greek verb and object here, but Ephesians, which contains the most references to “inheritance” of any NT book reads in chapter 1 vs. 14 & 18 “Who is a down-payment of the inheritance of us into redemption of His possession into praise of His glory… what the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in the saints is…” (NAW) This supports the reading of the ancient versions.

VThis is a perfect verb which follows an imperfect in sequence, so takes on the same meaning as the imperfect.

WGerald Wilson, in his commentary, noted that this divides the psalm into two stanzas of 10 lines each. Each stanza containing a command to praise, a statement of the kingship of God over all the earth and of the subjection of the peoples to Him, and both using the verb “go up” in regard to God.

XThe only other place in the Bible that “voice of shophar” appears is Amos 2:2 which also has the same verb for “shout:” “...Moab shall die with tumult, With shouting and trumpet sound.” (NKJV) The verb “went up” is past tense in Psalm 47, so it can’t be referring to the same event in Amos; Amos must have borrowed the language from the Psalm. Most likely, this is a reference to David bring the ark to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6:15/1 Chron. 15:28 (cf. King Asa’s later replication of this in 2 Chron. 15:14). Other occasions involving both “fanfare/shout” and “shofar/trumpet” are Lev. 25:9 (Jubilee holiday announcement); Josh. 6:5 & 20 (attack on Jericho), Job 39:25 (characteristics of the warhorse); Jer. 4:19 (war-lament); and Zeph. 1:16 (day of wrath). Augustine, in his analogical style of interpretation, connected this sound with that of the angels who affirmed the ascension of Christ in Acts 1, and John Gill was emphatic that this verse was about the ascension: “the passage here refers to the times following the ascension of Christ to heaven, when he went forth in the ministry of his apostles conquering and to conquer; and which he made use of to cause the people to fall under him, and to be willing to be saved by him… who through the Gospel preached by them became obedient by word and deed.” K&D, however, interpreted this as a “recent act of God” which had happened in the past, perhaps the decimation of the Moabite and Ammonite army before Jehoshapat in 2 Chron. 20:26.

YBoth Lamsa and Bauscher translated this “glory” – note recurrences in the next verses as well (curiously omitted by Lamsa in the next verse, and omitted by both Lamsa and Bauscher in the following verse).

ZIn a startling disagreement with the NIV Bible, Gerald Wilson wrote in the NIV Application Commentary, “The NIV’s translation of zmr as ‘sing praises’ ignores the fact that the term has more to do with playing an instrument than producing vocal music.”

AAAq. & Sym chose the synonym επιστημονως (“understanding”) for their translations.

BB“with understanding, not to seek the sound of the ear, but the light of the heart.” ~Augustine
“Calvin (like Montanus) renders this word in the Latin version by intelligens and in the French by entendu … understandeth... Adam Clarke reads, ‘Sing an instructive song;’ and observes, ‘Let sense and sound go together. Let your hearts and heads go with your voices.’” ~James Anderson, annotator of Calvin’s commentary published in the 1840’s.
Fausset = “instructive” G.Wilson = “didactic”
De Dieu “to Him that understandeth,” R. Obadiah, "of Him who understands" (referring to God rather than us)
Targum = "with a good understanding," followed by Gill.

CC“Literally it is, ‘He hath reigned;’ but as the verb מלך malach, is in the past tense, which in Hebrew denotes a continued act, we have translated it, ‘He hath obtained the kingdom.’” ~Calvin

DDTargums and Peshitta appear to move “his” to modify “throne” instead of “holiness.” The Greek preserves the Hebrew grammar that uses “his” to modify “holiness.”

EEChrysostom and Aquila appear to have agreed with interpreting the Hebrew עם as “with,” but Symmachus and Theodotion and Eusebius interpreted it as λαος (“people”).

FFAquilla translated this literally θυρεοι (“shields”), Symmachus and Theodotian figuratively υπερασπισμοι (“protectors”).

GGWithout the vowel pointing, this word could be the preposition “with” or the noun “people.” The Greek, Latin, and Syriac translators all took this word to be the preposition (as did the Geneva “unto”), but most English translations followed the Masoretic pointing and translated it as a noun. The NET Bible translated it both ways (“with the people”).

HHAlthough God is referred to as the singular “shield” of His people in the first two instances in the Pentateuch (Gen. 15:1, Deut. 33:21, cf. Psalms 3,7, 18, 28, 33, 59, 84, 115, 119, 144), the plural “shields” was metonymy for “soldiers.” Here it is parallel to “nobles/princes.” See footnote 11 for other scripture passages which indicate soldiers by their shields. The Latin, Syriac, and Greek all translated this word figuratively as “powers/dominions/forces” instead of literally “shields.”

II“[re]turned” – this is different from the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin “gathered/assembled/congregated”

JJLamsa as well as Bauscher translated this word together with the next as “dominions.”

8