Psalm 96

Psalm 9618

96:1 Sing to the Lord a new song!1

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!

96:2 Sing to the Lord! Praise his name!

Announce every day how he delivers!2

96:3 Tell the nations about his splendor!

Tell3 all the nations about his amazing deeds!

96:4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;

he is more awesome than all gods.4

96:5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,5

but the Lord made the sky.

96:6 Majestic splendor emanates from him;6

his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.7

96:7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,

ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!

96:8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves!8

Bring an offering and enter his courts!

96:9 Worship the Lord in holy attire!9

Tremble before him, all the earth!

96:10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

The world is established, it cannot be moved.

He judges the nations fairly.”

96:11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy!

Let the sea and everything in it shout!

96:12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!

Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy

96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly,10

and the nations in accordance with his justice.11

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18	sn Psalm 96. The psalmist summons everyone to praise the Lord, the sovereign creator of the world who preserves and promotes justice in the earth.
1	sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See also Pss 33:3; 40:3; 98:1.
2	tn Heb “announce from day to day his deliverance.”
3	tn The verb “tell” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
4	tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.
5	tn The Hebrew term אֱלִילִים (’elilim, “worthless”) sounds like אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”). The sound play draws attention to the statement.
6	tn Heb “majesty and splendor [are] before him.”
7	tn Heb “strength and beauty [are] in his sanctuary.”
8	tn Heb “the splendor of [i.e., “due”] his name.”
9	tn Or “in holy splendor.”
10	tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”
11	tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”