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Psalm 68:5-7
New English Translation
Psalm 68:5-7
New English Translation
5 He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows.[a]
God rules from his holy dwelling place.[b]
6 God settles in their own homes those who have been deserted;[c]
he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity.[d]
But sinful rebels live in the desert.[e]
7 O God, when you lead your people into battle,[f]
when you march through the wastelands,[g] (Selah)
Footnotes
- Psalm 68:5 sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.
- Psalm 68:5 tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.
- Psalm 68:6 tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
- Psalm 68:6 tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
- Psalm 68:6 tn Or “in a parched [land].”sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.
- Psalm 68:7 tn Heb “when you go out before your people.” The Hebrew idiom “go out before” is used here in a militaristic sense of leading troops into battle (see Judg 4:14; 9:39; 2 Sam 5:24).
- Psalm 68:7 sn When you march through the wastelands. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the wilderness. Another option is that v. 7, like v. 8, echoes Judg 5:4, which describes how the God of Sinai marched across the plains of Edom to do battle with Sisera and his Canaanite army.
New English Translation (NET)
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