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1O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions![#tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”]
Grant the king’s son the ability to make fair decisions!
2Then he will judge your people fairly,[#tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.]
and your oppressed ones equitably.
3The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,
and the hills will announce justice.
4He will defend the oppressed among the people;[#tn Heb “judge [for].”]
he will deliver the children of the poor
and crush the oppressor.
5People will fear you as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky,[#tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.” See Ps 33:8. Some interpreters, with the support of the LXX, prefer to read וְיַאֲרִיךְ (vÿ’a’arikh, “and he [the king in this case] will prolong [days]”), that is, “will live a long time” (cf. NIV, NRSV).; #tn God is the addressee (see vv. 1-2).]
for generation after generation.
6He will descend like rain on the mown grass,[#tn That is, the king (see vv. 2, 4).; #tn The rare term zg refers to a sheep’s fleece in Deut 18:4 and Job 31:20, but to “mown” grass or crops here and in Amos 7:1.]
like showers that drench the earth.
7During his days the godly will flourish;[#tn Heb “sprout up,” like crops. This verse continues the metaphor of rain utilized in v. 6.]
peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky.
8May he rule from sea to sea,[#tn The prefixed verbal form is a (shortened) jussive form, indicating this is a prayer of blessing.; #sn From sea to sea. This may mean from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. See Amos 8:12. The language of this and the following line also appears in Zech 9:10.]
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth!
9Before him the coastlands will bow down,[#tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.]
and his enemies will lick the dust.
10The kings of Tarshish and the coastlands will offer gifts;[#sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.]
the kings of Sheba and Seba will bring tribute.
11All kings will bow down to him;
all nations will serve him.
12For he will rescue the needy when they cry out for help,[#tn The singular is representative. The typical needy individual here represents the entire group.]
and the oppressed who have no defender.
13He will take pity on the poor and needy;[#tn The prefixed verb form is best understood as a defectively written imperfect (see Deut 7:16).]
the lives of the needy he will save.
14From harm and violence he will defend them;[#tn Or “redeem their lives.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Pss 19:14; 69:18).]
he will value their lives.
15May he live! May they offer him gold from Sheba![#tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. Because the form has the prefixed vav (ו), some subordinate it to what precedes as a purpose/result clause. In this case the representative poor individual might be the subject of this and the following verb, “so that he may live and give to him gold of Sheba.” But the idea of the poor offering gold is incongruous. It is better to take the jussive as a prayer with the king as subject of the verb. (Perhaps the initial vav is dittographic; note the vav at the end of the last form in v. 14.) The statement is probably an abbreviated version of the formula יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ (yÿkhiy hammelekh, “may the king live”; see 1 Sam 10:24; 2 Sam 16:16; 1 Kgs 1:25, 34, 39; 2 Kgs 11:12).; #tn Heb “and he will give to him some gold of Sheba.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one give”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are the tribute bearers in view here.]
May they continually pray for him!
May they pronounce blessings on him all day long!
16May there be an abundance of grain in the earth;[#tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. The translation assumes the subject is impersonal (rather than the king).; #tn The Hebrew noun פִסַּה (pissah; which appears here in the construct form) occurs only here in the OT. Perhaps the noun is related to the verbal root פָּשָׂה (pasah, “to spread,” see BDB 832 s.v.; the root appears as פָּסָה [pasah] in postbiblical Hebrew), which is used in postbiblical Hebrew of the rising sun’s rays spreading over the horizon and a tree’s branches spreading out (see Jastrow 1194 s.v. פסי, פָּסָה, פָּשָׂה). In Ps 72:16 a “spreading of grain” would refer to grain fields extending out over the land. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:139) emend the form to סְפִיחַ (sÿfiakh, “second growth”).]
on the tops of the mountains may it sway!
May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon!
May its crops be as abundant as the grass of the earth!
17May his fame endure![#tn Heb “may his name [be] permanent.” The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect.]
May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky!
May they use his name when they formulate their blessings!
May all nations consider him to be favored by God!
18The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise![#tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21; 41:13.]
He alone accomplishes amazing things!
19His glorious name deserves praise forevermore![#tn Heb “[be] blessed.”]
May his majestic splendor fill the whole earth!
We agree! We agree!
20This collection of the prayers of David son of Jesse ends here.[#tn Heb “the prayers of David, son of Jesse, are concluded.” As noted earlier, v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter. In the present arrangement of the Book of Psalms, not all psalms prior to this are attributed to David (see Pss 1-2, 10, 33, 42-50, 66-67, 71-72) and several psalms attributed to David appear after this (see Pss 86, 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 138-145).]