Psalm 2:1–9
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his tAnointed, saying,
3 “Let us uburst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who vsits in the heavens wlaughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his xwrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have yset my King
The Lord said to me, b“You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and cthe ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall dbreak2 them with ea rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like fa potter’s vessel.”
Psalm 2:1–9 — The New International Version (NIV)
1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8 Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
Psalm 2:1–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
1 Why do the heathen rage,
And the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder,
And cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh:
The Lord shall have them in derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,
And vex them in his sore displeasure.
6 Yet have I set my king
Upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree:
The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son;
This day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me,
And I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,
And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Psalm 2:1–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)
1 Why are the nations so angry?
Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
the rulers plot together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.
3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry,
“and free ourselves from slavery to God.”
4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then in anger he rebukes them,
terrifying them with his fierce fury.
6 For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne
in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.”
7 The king proclaims the Lord’s decree:
“The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son.
Today I have become your Father.
8 Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
the whole earth as your possession.
9 You will break them with an iron rod
and smash them like clay pots.’ ”
Psalm 2:1–9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
1 Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
Psalm 2:1–9 — New Century Version (NCV)
1 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare to fight,
and their leaders make plans together
against the Lord
and his appointed one.
3 They say, “Let’s break the chains that hold us back
and throw off the ropes that tie us down.”
4 But the one who sits in heaven laughs;
the Lord makes fun of them.
5 Then the Lord warns them
and frightens them with his anger.
6 He says, “I have appointed my own king
to rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain, Zion.”
7 Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 If you ask me, I will give you the nations;
all the people on earth will be yours.
9 You will rule over them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
Psalm 2:1–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)
1 Why do the nations rage,
And the peoples meditate a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bonds asunder,
And cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh:
The Lord will have them in derision.
5 Then will he speak unto them in his wrath,
And vex them in his sore displeasure:
6 Yet I have set my king
Upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will tell of the decree:
Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son;
This day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance,
And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Psalm 2:1–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
1 Why are the nations in tumultuous agitation, and why do the peoples meditate a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the princes plot together, against Jehovah and against his anointed: 3 Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from us! 4 He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then will he speak to them in his anger, and in his fierce displeasure will he terrify them: 6 And I have anointed my king upon Zion, the hill of my holiness.
7 I will declare the decree: Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; I this day have begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I will give thee nations for an inheritance, and for thy possession the ends of the earth: 9 Thou shalt break them with a sceptre of iron, as a potter’s vessel thou shalt dash them in pieces.
Psalm 2:1–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 Why do the nations gather together?
Why do their people devise useless plots?
2 Kings take their stands.
Rulers make plans together
against the Lord and against his Messiahby saying,
3 “Let’s break apart their chains
and shake off their ropes.”
4 The one enthroned in heaven laughs.
The Lord makes fun of them.
5 Then he speaks to them in his anger.
In his burning anger he terrifies them by saying,
6 “I have installed my own king on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will announce the Lord’s decree.
He said to me:
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.
8 Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance
and the ends of the earth as your own possession.
9 You will break them with an iron scepter.
You will smash them to pieces like pottery.”
Psalm 2:1–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 Why do the nations rebel
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,
and the rulers conspire together
against the Lord and His Anointed One:
3 “Let us tear off their chains
and free ourselves from their restraints.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.
5 Then He speaks to them in His anger
and terrifies them in His wrath:
6 “I have consecrated My King
on Zion, My holy mountain.”
7 I will declare the Lord’s decree:
He said to Me, “You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father.
8 Ask of Me,
and I will make the nations Your inheritance
and the ends of the earth Your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron;
You will shatter them like pottery.”
Psalm 2:1–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
1 Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Psalm 2:1–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
1 Why are nations in tumult,
and countries plotting in vain?
2 The kings of the earth establish themselves,
and the rulers conspire together
against Yahweh and his anointed:
3 “Let us tear off their bonds,
and cast their cords from us!”
4 He who sits enthroned in the heavens laughs.
The Lord derides them.
5 Then he speaks to them in his wrath,
and in his fury he terrifies them:
6 “But as for me, I have set my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will tell the decree;
Yahweh said to me:
“You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask from me and I will make the nations your heritage,
and your possession the ends of the earth.
9 You will break them with an iron rod.
Like a potter’s vessel you will shatter them.”
Psalm 2:1–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
1 Why do the nations plan evil together?
Why do they make useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand against the Lord.
The rulers of the earth gather together against his anointed king.
3 “Let us break free from their chains,” they say.
“Let us throw off their ropes.”
4 The One who sits on his throne in heaven laughs.
The Lord makes fun of those rulers and their plans.
5 When he is angry, he warns them.
When his anger blazes out, he terrifies them.
6 He says to them,
“I have placed my king on my holy mountain of Zion.”
7 I will announce what the Lord has promised.
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 Ask me, and I will give the nations to you.
All nations on earth will belong to you.
9 You will rule them with an iron rod.
You will break them to pieces like clay pots.”
Psalm 2:1–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
1 Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ”