Psalms 68:15
990
68:15 The mountain of Bashan is a tow- 
ering mountain;
the mountain of Bashan is a mountain
with many peaks.
68:16 Why do you look with envy, O
mountains with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has decided
to live?
Indeed the Lord will live there perma-
nently!
68:17 God has countless chariots;
they number in the thousands.
The Lord comes from Sinai in holy
splendor.10
68:18 You ascend on high,11
you have taken many captives.12
You receive tribute13 from14 men,
including even sinful rebels.
Indeed the Lord God lives there!15
68:19 The Lord deserves praise!16
Day after day17 he carries our burden,
the God who delivers us. (Selah)
 sn The mountain of Bashan probably refers to Mount
Hermon.
 tn Heb “a mountain of God.” The divine name is probably
used here in a superlative sense to depict a very high moun-
tain (“a mountain fit for God,” as it were). Cf. NIV “are majestic
mountains”; NRSV “O mighty mountain.”
 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term, which appears only
here in the OT, is uncertain. HALOT 174 s.v. ‫ ּג ְַבנוֹן‬suggests
“many-peaked,” while BDB 148 s.v. ‫ ּג ְַבנִ ן‬suggests “rounded
summit.”
 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb ‫( רָ צַ ד‬ratsad), trans-
lated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here
in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later
Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow
1492 s.v. ‫) ְרצַ ד‬.
 tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a
singular with enclitic mem (‫ ;ם‬later misinterpreted as a plural
ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.
 tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling
place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.
 tn The Hebrew particle ‫’( ַאף‬af) has an emphasizing func-
tion here.
 tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clari-
fication.
 tn Heb “thousands of [?].” The meaning of the word
‫( ׁ ִשנְ ָאן‬shin’an), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain.
Perhaps the form should be emended to ‫( ׁ ַשאֲ נָן‬sha’anan, “at
ease”) and be translated here “held in reserve.”
10 tc The MT reads, “the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in ho-
liness,” which is syntactically difficult. The present translation
assumes an emendation to ‫’( אֲ ֹדנָי ּ ָבא ִמ ִּסינַי‬adonay ba’ missi-
nay; see BHS note b-b and Deut 33:2).
11 tn Heb “to the elevated place”; or “on high.” This prob-
ably refers to the Lord’s throne on Mount Zion.
12 tn Heb “you have taken captives captive.”
13 tn Or “gifts.”
14 tn Or “among.”
15 tn Heb “so that the Lord God might live [there].” Many
take the infinitive construct with -‫( ְל‬lamed) as indicating pur-
pose here, but it is unclear how the offering of tribute enables
the Lord to live in Zion. This may be an occurrence of the rela-
tively rare emphatic lamed (see HALOT 510-11 s.v. II ‫ ְל‬, though
this text is not listed as an example there). If so, the statement
corresponds nicely to the final line of v. 16, which also affirms
emphatically that the Lord lives in Zion.
16 tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”
17 tn It is possible to take this phrase with what precedes
(“The Lord deserves praise day after day”) rather than with
what follows.
68:20 Our God is a God who delivers;
the Lord, the sovereign Lord, can rescue
from death.18
68:21 Indeed God strikes the heads of his
enemies,
the hairy foreheads of those who persist
in rebellion.19
68:22 The Lord says,
“I will retrieve them20 from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of
the sea,
68:23 so that your feet may stomp21 in their
blood,
and your dogs may eat their portion of
the enemies’ corpses.”22
68:24 They23 see your processions, O God –
the processions of my God, my king, who
marches along in holy splendor.24
68:25 Singers walk in front;
musicians follow playing their stringed
instruments,25
in the midst of young women playing
tambourines.26
68:26 In your large assemblies praise God,
the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel!27
68:27 There is little Benjamin, their ruler,28
and the princes of Judah in their robes,29
along with the princes of Zebulun and the
princes of Naphtali.
68:28 God has decreed that you will be
powerful.30
O God, you who have acted on our be-
half, demonstrate your power,
68:29 as you come out of your temple in
Jerusalem!31
18 tn Heb “and to the Lord, the Lord, to death, goings out.”
19 tn Heb “the hairy forehead of the one who walks about in
his guilt.” The singular is representative.
20 tn That is, the enemies mentioned in v. 21. Even if they
retreat to distant regions, God will retrieve them and make
them taste his judgment.
21 tc Some (e.g. NRSV) prefer to emend ‫( ָמ ַחץ‬makhats,
“smash; stomp”; see v. 21) to ‫( רָ ַחץ‬rakhats, “bathe”; see Ps
58:10).
22 tn Heb “[and] the tongue of your dogs from [the] enemies
[may eat] its portion.”
23 tn The subject is probably indefinite, referring to bystand-
ers in general who witness the procession.
24 tn The Hebrew text has simply “in holiness.” The words
“who marches along” are supplied in the translation for sty-
listic reasons.
25 tn Heb “after [are] the stringed instrument players.”
26 sn To celebrate a military victory, women would play tam-
bourines (see Exod 15:20; Judg 11:34; 1 Sam 18:6).
27 tn Heb “from the fountain of Israel,” which makes little, if
any, sense here. The translation assumes an emendation to
‫( ְּב ִמ ְקרָ ֵאי‬bÿmiqra’ey, “in the assemblies of [Israel]”).
28 sn Little Benjamin, their ruler. This may allude to the fact
that Israel’s first king, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin.
29 tc The MT reads ‫( ִרגְ ָמ ָתם‬rigmatam), which many derive
from ‫( רָ גַם‬ragam, “to kill by stoning”) and translates, “[in] their
heaps,” that is, in large numbers.
30 tn Heb “God has commanded your strength.” The state-
ment is apparently addressed to Israel (see v. 26).
31 tn Heb “Be strong, O God, [you] who have acted for us,
from your temple in Jerusalem.”
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