God’s Enemies Are Scattered 1 UST God, take action and chase away your enemies! Make those who hate you run away from you. BSB BSB: For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. God arises. His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee His presence.
2 UST Chase your enemies away just as wind blows smoke away. Make bad people go away, God, just as wax melts when it is near a fire. BSB BSB: As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.
3 UST But make good people happy. May they rejoice when they are in your presence; may they be very joyful. BSB BSB: But the righteous will be glad and rejoice before God; they will celebrate with joy.
4 UST Sing praise to God! Sing a song for him who even cares for desolate regions. His name is Yahweh; be glad when you are in his presence. BSB BSB: Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. Exalt Him who rides on the clouds—His name is the LORD—and rejoice before Him.
5 UST God, who is present in his sanctuary, is like a father to those who are orphans, and he protects widows. BSB BSB: A father of the fatherless and a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation.
6 UST He provides families for those who have no one to live with. He frees prisoners and enables them to be successful. But those who rebel against him will not be successful. It will be as if they live in a place where it is very hard to grow crops. BSB BSB: God settles the lonely in families; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
7 UST God, you led your people out of Egypt, and then you marched with them through the desert. Selah BSB BSB: O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wasteland, Selah
8 UST After you did that, the earth shook at Mount Sinai when you appeared to your people. Rain poured down from the sky, and your people worshiped you. BSB BSB: the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain before God, the One on Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
9 UST You caused much rain to fall there in the wilderness, and so you enabled good crops to grow again on that land that you gave to us Israelites. BSB BSB: You sent abundant rain, O God; You refreshed Your weary inheritance.
10 UST Your people built homes there. You were kind to poor people and provided food for them. BSB BSB: Your flock settled therein; O God, from Your bounty You provided for the poor.
11 UST Kings led their armies to fight against the Israelites, but God defeated them and they ran away. The Lord declared victory over them, and a great crowd of Israelite women sang and danced to celebrate. The men who fought against these enemies captured many valuable possessions and brought them back to the women who were at home. BSB BSB: The Lord gives the command; a great company of women proclaim it:
13 UST Some men had to take care of the sheep{ instead of fighting}, but the soldiers captured enough valuable possessions to give them some as well. They received treasures such as a dove statue with silver wings and feathers shimmering with fine gold. BSB BSB: Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver, and her feathers with shimmering gold.”
14 UST Shaddai defeated the enemy kings and their armies by making it snow on Mount Zalmon! BSB BSB: When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land, it was like the snow falling on Zalmon.
15 UST Mount Bashan is a very high mountain. It has many peaks. BSB BSB: A mountain of God is Mount Bashan; a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan.
16 UST Because it is such a great mountain, if it could think, it might think that God should have chosen it as the place for his sanctuary. But Yahweh chose Mount Zion instead, and he will always be present there. BSB BSB: Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling, where the LORD will surely dwell forever.
17 UST God is so powerful that it is as if he has thousands and thousands of chariots. In fact, it is as if he has ten thousands and ten thousands of them! The same God who appeared to the Israelites on Mount Sinai is now present in his sanctuary on Mount Zion. BSB BSB: The chariots of God are tens of thousands—thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.
18 UST { After he defeated his enemies,} he went up to the sacred mountain where his sanctuary is. He led many captured prisoners in a victory procession. He received gifts from the enemies whom he had defeated. He even received gifts from those who had rebelled against him. Now Yahweh, our God, will always be present in his sanctuary. BSB BSB: You have ascended on high; You have led captives away. You have received gifts from men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
19 UST Praise the Lord, who helps us every day as if he were carrying a heavy load for us. He is the God who saves us. Selah BSB BSB: Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Selah
20 UST Our God is the God who saves us; Yahweh our Lord is the one who rescues us from dying. BSB BSB: Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.
21 UST But God will completely destroy his enemies. If anyone continues to behave sinfully, God will destroy that person. BSB BSB: Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways.
22 UST The Lord said,“Even if my enemies try to climb a high mountain to be safe, or even if they try to hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will bring them back BSB BSB: The Lord said, “I will retrieve them from Bashan, I will bring them up from the depths of the sea,
23 UST so that you can trample on their heads. Your dogs will lick up the blood that comes out of their heads.” BSB BSB: that your foot may be dipped in the blood of your foes—the tongues of your dogs in the same.”
24 UST And now you are parading triumphantly into your sanctuary, God. You are our king, and you are leading a great crowd the way a king does. BSB BSB: They have seen Your procession, O God—the march of my God and King into the sanctuary.
25 UST There are singers at the front of the parade. Musicians playing stringed instruments are at the back of the parade. In the middle there are girls playing tambourines. BSB BSB: The singers lead the way, the musicians follow after, among the maidens playing tambourines.
26 UST Praise God, you who have gathered together! Praise Yahweh, you descendants of Israel! BSB BSB: Bless God in the great congregation; bless the LORD from the fountain of Israel.
27 UST People from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe, are marching first. Leaders and many other people from the tribe of Judah come next. There are even leaders from the{ far northern} tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali in the parade. BSB BSB: There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them, the princes of Judah in their company, the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28 UST Our God has made our Israelite tribes strong. God, continue to help us with your power as you helped us in the past. BSB BSB: Summon Your power, O God; show Your strength, O God, which You have exerted on our behalf.
29 UST Since you have now established your sanctuary on a mountain above Jerusalem, kings will send tribute to you there. BSB BSB: Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts.
30 UST Show the king of Egypt that even though he has a powerful army, he cannot defeat you. Many kings who are strong like bulls may gather together. They may form armies from their subject nations, which are like bulls’ calves,{ but they will not be able to defeat you either}. Instead, they will come submissively and pay you tribute in silver. Some nations are eager to fight wars; make their armies run away! BSB BSB: Rebuke the beast in the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations, until it submits, bringing bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war.
32 UST People of nations throughout the world, sing praise to God! He is the Lord Selah BSB BSB: Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord—Selah
33 UST who dwells above the sky that he created long ago. When you hear thunder, it is as if he is shouting with his very powerful voice. BSB BSB: to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old; behold, His mighty voice resounds.
34 UST Proclaim how powerful God is! He is the king who reigns over Israel as he rules powerfully from the sky. BSB BSB: Ascribe the power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose strength is in the skies.
35 UST God, you are in your sanctuary, and you are very powerful. This is the God whom we Israelite people worship. He makes us very strong. Praise God! BSB BSB: O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary; the God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.