Psalms 72
72
A Prayer for the King
1Of Solomon.
I
2O God, give your judgment to the king;
your justice to the king’s son;#The king…the king’s son: the crown prince is the king’s son; the prayer envisages the dynasty. #Ps 99:4; Jer 23:5.
That he may govern your people with justice,
your oppressed with right judgment,#Prv 31:8–9.
3That the mountains may yield their bounty for the people,
and the hills great abundance,#Is 52:7; 55:12.
4That he may defend the oppressed among the people,
save the children of the poor and crush the oppressor.
II
5May they fear you with the sun,
and before the moon, through all generations.#Ps 89:37–38; Jer 31:35.
6May he be like rain coming down upon the fields,
like showers watering the earth,#Dt 32:2; Is 45:8; Hos 6:3.
7That abundance may flourish in his days,
great bounty, till the moon be no more.
III
8#From sea to sea…the ends of the earth: the boundaries of the civilized world known at the time: from the Mediterranean Sea (the western sea) to the Persian Gulf (the eastern sea), and from the Euphrates (the river) to the islands and lands of southwestern Europe, “the ends of the earth.” The words may also have a mythic nuance—the earth surrounded by cosmic waters, hence everywhere.May he rule from sea to sea,
from the river to the ends of the earth.#Dt 11:24; Zec 9:10.
9May his foes kneel before him,
his enemies lick the dust.#Is 49:23; Mi 7:17.
10May the kings of Tarshish and the islands#Tarshish and the islands: the far west (Ps 48:6); Arabia and Seba: the far south (1 Kgs 10:1). bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.#Ps 68:30; Is 60:5–6; 1 Kgs 10:1ff.
11May all kings bow before him,
all nations serve him.#Ps 47:8.
12For he rescues the poor when they cry out,
the oppressed who have no one to help.
13He shows pity to the needy and the poor#Prv 31:9.
and saves the lives of the poor.
14From extortion and violence he redeems them,
for precious is their blood#Their blood: cf. Ps 116:15. in his sight.
IV
15Long may he live, receiving gold from Sheba,
prayed for without cease, blessed day by day.
16#The translation of the difficult Hebrew is tentative.May wheat abound in the land,
flourish even on the mountain heights.
May his fruit be like that of Lebanon,
and flourish in the city like the grasses of the land.#Is 27:6; Hos 14:6–8; Am 9:13.
17May his name be forever;
as long as the sun, may his name endure.#Ps 21:7.
May the tribes of the earth give blessings with his name;#May the tribes of the earth give blessings with his name: an echo of the promise to the ancestors (Gn 12:3; 26:4; 28:14), suggesting that the monarchy in Israel fulfilled the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
may all the nations regard him as favored.#Gn 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; Zec 8:13.
18#A doxology marking the end of Book II of the Psalter.Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonderful deeds.#Ps 41:14; 89:53; 106:48; 136:4.
19Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may he fill all the earth with his glory.#Ps 57:5; Nm 14:21.
Amen and amen.
20The end of the psalms of David, son of Jesse.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalms 72
72
A Prayer for the Prosperity of God’s Anointed King
Of Solomon.#The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
1O God, give your judgments to the king,
and your righteousness to the king’s son.
2May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3Let the mountains yield prosperity#Or “peace” for the people,
and the hills in righteousness.
4May he provide justice for the poor of the people,
save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5May he live long#This presupposes the reading, suggested by the LXX, that might indicate that two of the Hebrew root letters have been inverted. The Hebrew reads “They will/Let them fear” while the sun endures#Literally “with the sun”
as long as the moon#Literally “in the presence of the moon” for all generations.#Literally “generation of generations”
6May he descend like rain on mown grass,
like showers watering the earth.
7May what is right blossom in his days
and an abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8And may he rule from sea up to sea,
and from the River#That is, the Euphrates to the edges of the land.
9Let the desert dwellers bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10Let the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute.
Let the kings of Sheba and Seba present gifts,
11and let all kings bow down to him.
Let all nations serve him.
12Indeed he will deliver the needy who is crying for help,
and the afflicted who has no helper.
13He will take pity on the helpless and needy,
and the lives of the needy he will save.
14From oppression and from violence
he will redeem their lives,
and their blood will be precious in his eyes.
15So may he live, and may gold from Sheba be given to him,
and may prayers be offered for him continually.
May blessings be invoked for him all day long.#Literally “all the day”
16May there be an abundance of grain in the land
even on the top of the mountains.
May his crop#Or “May his descendants” sway like the trees of Lebanon,
and may those from the city blossom like the grass of the earth.
17May his name endure forever.
May his name increase as long as the sun shines,#Literally “in the presence of the sun”
and let them be blessed in him.
Let all nations call him blessed.
18Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonderful things.
19And blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.
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