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Psalm 96[a]

96 Sing to the Lord a new song.[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.[c]
Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.[e]
For all the gods of the nations are worthless,[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
Majestic splendor emanates from him;[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.[h]
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
Worship the Lord in holy attire.[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[k]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.[l]

Psalm 97[m]

97 The Lord reigns.
Let the earth be happy.
Let the many coastlands rejoice.
Dark clouds surround him;
equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.[n]
Fire goes before him;
on every side[o] it burns up his enemies.
His lightning bolts light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the whole earth.
The sky declares his justice,
and all the nations see his splendor.
All who worship idols are ashamed,
those who boast about worthless idols.
All the gods bow down before him.[p]
Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns[q] of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
For you, O Lord, are the Most High[r] over the whole earth;
you are elevated high above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects[s] the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power[t] of the wicked.
11 The godly bask in the light;
the morally upright experience joy.[u]
12 You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord.
Give thanks to his holy name.[v]

Psalm 98[w]

A psalm.

98 Sing to the Lord a new song,[x]
for he performs[y] amazing deeds.
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance.[z]
The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver;[aa]
in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.
He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel.[ab]
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.[ac]
Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth.
Break out in a joyful shout and sing!
Sing to the Lord accompanied by a harp,
accompanied by a harp and the sound of music.
With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,
shout out praises before the king, the Lord.
Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
before the Lord.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[ad]
and the nations in a just manner.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 96:1 sn Psalm 96. The psalmist summons everyone to praise the Lord, the sovereign creator of the world who preserves and promotes justice in the earth.
  2. Psalm 96:1 sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See also Pss 33:3; 40:3; 98:1.
  3. Psalm 96:2 tn Heb “announce from day to day his deliverance.”
  4. Psalm 96:3 tn The verb “tell” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
  5. Psalm 96:4 tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.
  6. Psalm 96:5 tn The Hebrew term אֱלִילִים (ʾelilim, “worthless”) sounds like אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim, “gods”). The sound play draws attention to the statement.
  7. Psalm 96:6 tn Heb “majesty and splendor [are] before him.”
  8. Psalm 96:6 tn Heb “strength and beauty [are] in his sanctuary.”
  9. Psalm 96:8 tn Heb “the splendor of [i.e., “due”] his name.”
  10. Psalm 96:9 tn Or “in holy splendor.”
  11. Psalm 96:13 tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”
  12. Psalm 96:13 tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”
  13. Psalm 97:1 sn Psalm 97. The psalmist depicts the Lord as the sovereign, just king of the world who comes in power to vindicate his people.
  14. Psalm 97:2 sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.
  15. Psalm 97:3 tn Heb “all around.”
  16. Psalm 97:7 tn The translation assumes that the prefixed verbal form in the first line is an imperfect (“are ashamed”) and that the ambiguous form in the third line is a perfect (“bow down”) because the psalmist appears to be describing the effect of the Lord’s mighty theophany on those who witness it (see vv. 5, 8). Another option is to take the prefixed form in the first line as a jussive (“let all who worship idols be ashamed”) and the ambiguous form in the third line as an imperative (“All you gods, bow down before him!”; cf. NIV).
  17. Psalm 97:8 tn Heb “daughters.” The term “daughters” refers to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 48:11 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).
  18. Psalm 97:9 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
  19. Psalm 97:10 tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the Lord.” In this case one could translate, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord, the one who protects the lives…and delivers them.”
  20. Psalm 97:10 tn Heb “hand.”
  21. Psalm 97:11 tn Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zaraʿ, “planted”) to זָרַח (zarakh, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.
  22. Psalm 97:12 tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זָכַר (zakhar, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 30:4. The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.
  23. Psalm 98:1 sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.
  24. Psalm 98:1 sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.
  25. Psalm 98:1 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.
  26. Psalm 98:1 tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.
  27. Psalm 98:2 tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”
  28. Psalm 98:3 tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”
  29. Psalm 98:3 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).
  30. Psalm 98:9 tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).