Psalm 68

Praise to God for Providing Victory

68For the music director. Of David. A psalm. A song.^a

¹God will arise; his enemies will be scattered,

and those who hate him will flee from before him.

²As smoke is driven off, you will drive them off.

As wax melts before fire,

the wicked will perish before God.

³But the righteous will be glad; they will exalt before God,

and will rejoice with joy.

⁴Sing to God, sing praises to his name.

Lift up a song to the rider on the clouds—his name is Yah—^b

and rejoice before him.

⁵A father to orphans and a judge for widows

is God in his holy habitation.

⁶God settles the lonely in a home;

he brings prisoners out into prosperity.

But the rebellious abide in a barren land.

⁷O God, when you went out before your people,

when you marched through the desert, Selah

⁸the earth shook; the heavens also dripped rain

at the presence of God who was at Sinai,

at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

⁹You caused abundant rain to fall, O God.

When your inheritance was weary you revived it.

¹⁰Your community dwelled in it.

You provided in your goodness for the poor, O God.

¹¹The Lord gives the word.

Great is the company of women who announce:

¹²“The kings of armies flee, they flee,

and she who remains at home divides the spoil.

¹³Though you men lie down between the sheepfolds,

you will be like the wings of a dove covered in silver

and its pinions in yellow gold.”

¹⁴When Shaddai scattered kings on it,

on Zalmon it snowed.^c

¹⁵A mountain of God^d is the mountain of Bashan;

a mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

¹⁶Why do you look with hostility, O many-peaked mountains?

This^e mountain God desires for his dwelling.

Yes, Yahweh will abide in it forever.

¹⁷The chariots of God

are twice ten thousand, with thousands doubled.

The Lord is among them at Sinai, distinctive in victory.^f

¹⁸You have ascended on high; you have led away captives.

You have received gifts from among humankind,

and even from the rebellious, so that Yah^g God may dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord. Daily he loads us with benefits,^h

the God of our salvation.ⁱ Selah

²⁰Our God is a God of deliverances,

and to the Yahweh the Lord belong escapes from death.

²¹But God will shatter the head of his enemies,

the hairy scalp of the one who continues on^j in his guilt.

²²The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

²³so that your foot may shatter them bloody

for the tongues of your dogs to have their share from the enemies.”

²⁴They have seen your processions, O God,

the processions of my God, my king, distinctive in victory.^k

²⁵Singers went up front, those playing stringed instruments last,

between them young women playing tambourines.

²⁶Bless God in the assemblies,

Yahweh from the fountain of Israel.

²⁷There is little Benjamin ruling them,

with the princes of Judah in their throng,

the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸Your God has commanded your strength.

Show yourself strong, O God, by what you perform^l for us.

²⁹Because your temple is above Jerusalem,

kings will bring tribute to you.

³⁰Rebuke the beasts in^m the reeds,

the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,

trampling the pieces of silver.ⁿ

Scatter the nations who delight in battles.

³¹Ambassadors^o will come from Egypt;

Cush will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

³²O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;

sing praise to the Lord, Selah

³³to the one who rides in the highest heavens of old.

See, he gives forth his voice, a mighty voice.

³⁴Ascribe strength to God.

His majesty is over Israel,

and his strength is in the clouds.

³⁵Awesome are you, O God, from your sanctuary.^p

The God of Israel, it is he who gives strength and might to the people.

Blessed be God.