Psalm 65

¹Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion.[#tn Heb “for you, silence, praise.” Many prefer to emend the noun דֻּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”) to a participle דּוֹמִיָּה (domiyyah), from the root דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”), understood here in the sense of “wait.”]

Vows made to you are fulfilled.

²You hear prayers;[#tn Heb “O one who hears prayer.”]

all people approach you.

³Our record of sins overwhelms me,[#tn Heb “the records of sins are too strong for me.”]

but you forgive our acts of rebellion.

⁴How blessed is the one whom you choose,[#tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).]

and allow to live in your palace courts.

May we be satisfied with the good things of your house –

your holy palace.

⁵You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,

O God, our savior.

All the ends of the earth trust in you,

as well as those living across the wide seas.

⁶You created the mountains by your power,[#tn Heb “[the] one who establishes [the] mountains by his power.”]

and demonstrated your strength.

⁷You calm the raging seas[#tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”]

and their roaring waves,

as well as the commotion made by the nations.

⁸Even those living in the most remote areas are awestruck by your acts;[#tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the ends fear because of your signs.” God’s “signs” are the “awesome acts” (see v. 5) he performs in the earth.]

you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.

⁹You visit the earth and give it rain;[#tn The verb form is a Polel from שׁוּק (shuq, “be abundant”), a verb which appears only here and in Joel 2:24 and 3:13, where it is used in the Hiphil stem and means “overflow.”]

you make it rich and fertile

with overflowing streams full of water.

You provide grain for them,

for you prepare the earth to yield its crops.

¹⁰You saturate its furrows,[#tn Heb “saturating” [the form is an infinitive absolute].]

and soak its plowed ground.

With rain showers you soften its soil,

and make its crops grow.

¹¹You crown the year with your good blessings,[#tn Heb “your good,” which refers here to agricultural blessings.]

and you leave abundance in your wake.

¹²The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,[#tn Heb “drip.”]

and the hills are clothed with joy.

¹³The meadows are clothed with sheep,

and the valleys are covered with grain.

They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.