Psalms 68
68
1-4Up with God!
Down with his enemies!
Adversaries, run for the hills!
Gone like a puff of smoke,
like a blob of wax in the fire—
one look at God and the wicked vanish.
When the righteous see God in action
they’ll laugh, they’ll sing,
they’ll laugh and sing for joy.
Sing hymns to God;
all heaven, sing out;
clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider.
Enjoy God,
cheer when you see him!
5-6Father of orphans,
champion of widows,
is God in his holy house.
God makes homes for the homeless,
leads prisoners to freedom,
but leaves rebels to rot in hell.
7-10God, when you took the lead with your people,
when you marched out into the wild,
Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat;
God was on the march.
Even Sinai trembled at the sight of God on the move,
at the sight of Israel’s God.
You pour out rain in buckets, O God;
thorn and cactus become an oasis
For your people to camp in and enjoy.
You set them up in business;
they went from rags to riches.
11-14The Lord gave the word;
thousands called out the good news:
“Kings of the armies
are on the run, on the run!”
While housewives, safe and sound back home,
divide up the plunder,
the plunder of Canaanite silver and gold.
On that day that Shaddai scattered the kings,
snow fell on Black Mountain.
15-16You huge mountains, Bashan mountains,
mighty mountains, dragon mountains.
All you mountains not chosen,
sulk now, and feel sorry for yourselves,
For this is the mountain God has chosen to live on;
he’ll rule from this mountain forever.
17-18The chariots of God, twice ten thousand,
and thousands more besides,
The Lord in the lead, riding down Sinai—
straight to the Holy Place!
You climbed to the High Place, captives in tow,
your arms full of plunder from rebels,
And now you sit there in state,
God, sovereign God!
19-23Blessed be the Lord—
day after day he carries us along.
He’s our Savior, our God, oh yes!
He’s God-for-us, he’s God-who-saves-us.
Lord God knows all
death’s ins and outs.
What’s more, he made heads roll,
split the skulls of the enemy
As he marched out of heaven,
saying, “I tied up the Dragon in knots,
put a muzzle on the Deep Blue Sea.”
You can wade through your enemies’ blood,
and your dogs taste of your enemies from your boots.
24-31See God on parade
to the sanctuary, my God,
my King on the march!
Singers out front, the band behind,
maidens in the middle with castanets.
The whole choir blesses God.
Like a fountain of praise, Israel blesses God.
Look—little Benjamin’s out
front and leading
Princes of Judah in their royal robes,
princes of Zebulun, princes of Naphtali.
Parade your power, O God,
the power, O God, that made us what we are.
Your temple, High God, is Jerusalem;
kings bring gifts to you.
Rebuke that old crocodile, Egypt,
with her herd of wild bulls and calves,
Rapacious in her lust for silver,
crushing peoples, spoiling for a fight.
Let Egyptian traders bring blue cloth
and Cush come running to God, her hands outstretched.
32-34Sing, O kings of the earth!
Sing praises to the Lord!
There he is: Sky-Rider,
striding the ancient skies.
Listen—he’s calling in thunder,
rumbling, rolling thunder.
Call out “Bravo!” to God,
the High God of Israel.
His splendor and strength
rise huge as thunderheads.
35A terrible beauty, O God,
streams from your sanctuary.
It’s Israel’s strong God! He gives
power and might to his people!
O you, his people—bless God!
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Psalms 68
68
To the Overseer. — A Psalm, a song of David.
1Rise doth God — scattered are His enemies! And those hating Him flee from His face.
2As the driving away of smoke Thou drivest away, As the melting of wax before fire, The wicked perish at the presence of God.
3And the righteous rejoice, they exult before God, And they joy with gladness.
4Sing ye to God — praise His name, Raise up a highway for Him who is riding in deserts, In Jah [is] His name, and exult before Him.
5Father of the fatherless, and judge of the widows, [Is] God in His holy habitation.
6God — causing the lonely to dwell at home, Bringing out bound ones into prosperity, Only — the refractory have inhabited a dry place.
7O God, in Thy going forth before Thy people, In Thy stepping through the wilderness, Selah.
8The earth hath shaken, Yea, the heavens have dropped before God, This Sinai — before God, the God of Israel.
9A shower of free-will gifts thou shakest out, O God. Thine inheritance, when it hath been weary, Thou hast established it.
10Thy company have dwelt in it, Thou preparest in Thy goodness for the poor, O God.
11The Lord doth give the saying, The female proclaimers [are] a numerous host.
12Kings of hosts flee utterly away, And a female inhabitant of the house apportioneth spoil.
13Though ye do lie between two boundaries, Wings of a dove covered with silver, And her pinions with yellow gold.
14When the Mighty spreadeth kings in it, It doth snow in Salmon.
15A hill of God [is] the hill of Bashan, A hill of heights [is] the hill of Bashan.
16Why do ye envy, O high hills, The hill God hath desired for His seat? Jehovah also doth tabernacle for ever.
17The chariots of God [are] myriads, thousands of changes, The Lord [is] among them, in Sinai, in the sanctuary.
18Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast taken captive captivity, Thou hast taken gifts for men, That even the refractory may rest, O Jah God.
19Blessed [is] the Lord, day by day He layeth on us. God Himself [is] our salvation. Selah.
20God Himself [is] to us a God for deliverances, And Jehovah Lord hath the outgoings of death.
21Only — God doth smite The head of His enemies, The hairy crown of a habitual walker in his guilt.
22The Lord said: ‘From Bashan I bring back, I bring back from the depths of the sea.
23So that thou dashest thy foot in blood, [In the blood of] enemies — the tongue of Thy dogs.’
24They have seen Thy goings, O God, Goings of my God, my king, in the sanctuary.
25Singers have been before, Behind [are] players on instruments, In the midst virgins playing with timbrels.
26In assemblies bless ye God, The Lord — from the fountain of Israel.
27There [is] little Benjamin their ruler, Heads of Judah their defence, Heads of Zebulun — heads of Naphtali.
28Thy God hath commanded thy strength, Be strong, O God, this Thou hast wrought for us.
29Because of Thy temple at Jerusalem, To Thee do kings bring a present.
30Rebuke a beast of the reeds, a company of bulls, With calves of the peoples, Each humbling himself with pieces of silver, Scatter Thou peoples delighting in conflicts.
31Come do fat ones out of Egypt, Cush causeth her hands to run to God.
32Kingdoms of the earth, sing ye to God, Praise ye the Lord. Selah.
33To him who is riding on the heavens of the heavens of old, Lo, He giveth with His voice a strong voice.
34Ascribe ye strength to God, Over Israel [is] His excellency, and His strength in the clouds.
35Fearful, O God, out of Thy sanctuaries, The God of Israel Himself, Giving strength and might to the people. Blessed [is] God!
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