Psalm 72
72
The Reign of the Righteous King
A Psalm for Solomon.
1Give the king thy judgments, O God,
and thy righteousness unto the king's son.
2He shall judge thy people with righteousness,
and thy poor with judgment.
3The mountains shall bring peace to the people,
and the little hills, by righteousness.
4He shall judge the poor of the people,
he shall save the children of the needy,
and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
5They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure,
throughout all generations.
6He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass:
as showers that water the earth.
7In his days shall the righteous flourish;
and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
8 #
Zech 9.10. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
9They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;
and his enemies shall lick the dust.
10The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:
the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11Yea, all kings shall fall down before him:
all nations shall serve him.
12For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth;
the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13He shall spare the poor and needy,
and shall save the souls of the needy.
14He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
15And he shall live,
and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba:
prayer also shall be made for him continually;
and daily shall he be praised.
16There shall be a handful of corn in the earth
upon the top of the mountains;
the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:
and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17His name shall endure for ever:
his name shall be continued as long as the sun:
and men shall be blessed in him:
all nations shall call him blessed.
18Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who only doeth wondrous things.
19And blessed be his glorious name for ever:
and let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen, and Amen.
20The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
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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