68
A psalm written by David for the choir director
1 God, arise and scatter your enemies,
and you cause those who hate you to run away from you.
2 Like wind blows smoke away,
you chase your enemies away.
Like wax melts when it is near a fire,
you cause wicked people to ◄disappear/be destroyed►.
3 But righteous people are joyful;
they rejoice when they are in God's presence;
they are happy, and they are very joyful.
4 Sing to God; sing to praise him;
sing a song (OR, make a road) for him who rides on the clouds;
his name is Yahweh; be glad when you are in his presence.
5 God, who lives in his sacred temple, is like [MET] a father to those who are orphans,
and he is the one who protects widows.
6 He provides families to live with for those who have no one to live with.
He frees prisoners and enables them to be successful,
but those who rebel against him will be forced to live in a very hot and dry land.
7 God, you led your people out of Egypt,
and then you marched with them through the desert.
(Think about that!)
8 After you did that, because you, the God worshiped by us Israeli people, appeared to us,
the earth shook at Sinai Mountain,
and rain poured down from the sky.
9 You caused plenty of rain to fall there in the desert,
and so you enabled good crops to grow again on that land that you gave to us Israelis.
10 Your people built homes there;
and because you were good to them, you provided food for those who were poor.
11 The Lord spoke this message,
and many women took his message to other places.
12 They proclaimed, “Many kings and their armies are running away from our army!”
When our army brought back to their homes the things that they captured,
the women who were at home divided up those things among themselves and among their families.
13 Even those women who were lying on the ground in the pens where the sheep are kept received some of those things;
they got statues of doves whose wings were covered with silver
and whose feathers were covered with pure yellow gold.
14 When Almighty God scattered the enemy kings and their armies,
the number of weapons that they abandoned there seemed like there had been a snowstorm on Zalmon (OR, a black) Mountain!
15 There is a very high mountain in the Bashan region,
a mountain which has many peaks.
16 But the people who live near that mountain should not [RHQ] envy those who live near Zion,
the mountain on which God chose to live!
Yahweh will live there forever!
17 After we defeated all our enemies,
it was as though the Lord, surrounded by many thousands of strong chariots, descended from Sinai Mountain
and came into the sacred temple in Jerusalem.
18 He ascended the sacred mountain where his temple is,
and took with him many people who had been captured in battles;
and received gifts from the enemies whom he had defeated.
He received gifts even from those who had rebelled against him,
and Yahweh our God will live there in his sacred temple forever.
19 Praise the Lord, who helps us carry our heavy loads every day;
he is the one who saves/rescues us.
(Think about that!)
20 Our God is the God who saves us;
He is Yahweh, our Lord, the one who ◄allows us to escape/prevents us► from being killed in battles.
21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
the long-haired skulls of those who continue to behave sinfully.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring back the corpses of those who were killed in Bashan,
and I will bring back those who sank deep in the ocean and drowned.
23 I will do that in order that you may wash your feet in their blood,
and your dogs can also lap up some of your enemies' blood.”
24 God, many people see you march triumphantly into your sacred temple
celebrating that you have defeated your enemies.
You march like a king does, and a large crowd walks with you.
25 The singers are in front, and the people who play stringed instruments are at the rear,
and young women who are beating their tambourines are between them.
26 They are all singing, “You Israeli people, praise God when you gather together;
praise Yahweh, all you who are descendants of Jacob!”
27 First come the people of the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe,
and following them come the leaders of the tribe of Judah and their group,
and following them come the leaders of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 God, show people that you are very powerful;
show people the power with which you have helped us previously.
29 Show that power from your temple in Jerusalem,
where kings bring gifts to you.
30 Rebuke your enemies, such as those in Egypt who are like wild hippopotamuses/animals that live in the reeds;
and powerful nations that are like bulls that control their calves [MET];
rebuke/trample them until they bow down and give you gifts of silver.
Scatter the people who delight to make wars.
31 Then people will bring gifts of bronze (OR, of cloth) to you from Egypt;
if you do that, the people in Ethiopia will lift up their hands to praise you.
32 You people who are citizens of kingdoms/countries all over the world, sing to God!
Sing praises to the Lord!
(Think about that!)
33 Sing to the God, the one who rides in the sky,
the sky that he created long ago.
Listen as he shouts with a very powerful voice.
34 Proclaim that God is very powerful;
he is the king that rules over Israel,
and in the skies he also shows that he is powerful.
35 God is awesome as he comes out of his sacred temple;
he is the God whom we Israeli people worship.
He gives power and strength [DOU] to his people.
Praise God!
Note: The Old Testament in this translation is still being worked on, and is in draft form. Updates will be posted at eBible.org/t4t/.