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1Why do the nations rebel?[#tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.; #tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.]
Why are the countries devising plots that will fail?
2The kings of the earth form a united front;[#sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.; #tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.]
the rulers collaborate
against the Lord and his anointed king.
3They say, “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us![#tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.; #tn Heb “their (i.e., the Lord’s and the king’s) shackles.” The kings compare the rule of the Lord and his vice-regent to being imprisoned.]
Let’s free ourselves from their ropes!”
4The one enthroned in heaven laughs in disgust;[#tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).; #tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.]
the Lord taunts them.
5Then he angrily speaks to them
and terrifies them in his rage, saying,
6“I myself have installed my king[#tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”; #tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”]
on Zion, my holy hill.”
7The king says, “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me:[#tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.; #tn Or “I will relate the decree. The Lord said to me” (in accordance with the Masoretic accentuation).]
‘You are my son! This very day I have become your father!
8Ask me,
and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
the ends of the earth as your personal property.
9You will break them with an iron scepter;[#tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.; #tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.]
you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’”
10So now, you kings, do what is wise;[#sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.]
you rulers of the earth, submit to correction!
11Serve the Lord in fear![#tn The Hebrew verb translated “serve” refers here to submitting to the Lord’s sovereignty as expressed through the rule of the Davidic king. Such “service” would involve maintaining allegiance to the Davidic king by paying tribute on a regular basis.]
Repent in terror!
12Give sincere homage![#tn Traditionally, “kiss the son” (KJV). But בַּר (bar) is the Aramaic word for “son,” not the Hebrew. For this reason many regard the reading as suspect. Some propose emendations of vv. 11b-12a. One of the more popular proposals is to read בִּרְעָדָה נַשְּׁקוּ לְרַגְלָיו (bir’adah nashÿqu lÿraslayv, “in trembling kiss his feet”). It makes better sense to understand בַּר (bar) as an adjective meaning “pure” (see Pss 24:4; 73:1 and BDB 141 s.v. בַּר 3) functioning here in an adverbial sense. If read this way, then the syntactical structure of exhortation (imperative followed by adverbial modifier) corresponds to the two preceding lines (see v. 11). The verb נָשַׁק (nashaq, “kiss”) refers metonymically to showing homage (see 1 Sam 10:1; Hos 13:2). The exhortation in v. 12a advocates a genuine expression of allegiance and warns against insincerity. When swearing allegiance, vassal kings would sometimes do so insincerely, with the intent of rebelling when the time was right. The so-called “Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon” also warn against such an attitude. In this treaty the vassal is told: “If you, as you stand on the soil where this oath [is sworn], swear the oath with your words and lips [only], do not swear with your entire heart, do not transmit it to your sons who will live after this treaty, if you take this curse upon yourselves but do not plan to keep the treaty of Esarhaddon…may your sons and grandsons because of this fear in the future” (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 2:62).]
Otherwise he will be angry,
and you will die because of your behavior,
when his anger quickly ignites.
How blessed are all who take shelter in him!