5 For all the gods H430 of the nations H5971 are idols: H457 but the LORD H3068 made H6213 the heavens. H8064
Thus H1836 shall ye say H560 unto them, The gods H426 that have not H3809 made H5648 the heavens H8065 and the earth, H778 even they shall perish H7 from the earth, H772 and from under H8460 these H429 heavens. H8065 He hath made H6213 the earth H776 by his power, H3581 he hath established H3559 the world H8398 by his wisdom, H2451 and hath stretched out H5186 the heavens H8064 by his discretion. H8394
But our God H430 is in the heavens: H8064 he hath done H6213 whatsoever he hath pleased. H2654 Their idols H6091 are silver H3701 and gold, H2091 the work H4639 of men's H120 hands. H3027 They have mouths, H6310 but they speak H1696 not: eyes H5869 have they, but they see H7200 not: They have ears, H241 but they hear H8085 not: noses H639 have they, but they smell H7306 not: They have hands, H3027 but they handle H4184 not: feet H7272 have they, but they walk H1980 not: neither speak H1897 they through their throat. H1627 They that make H6213 them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth H982 in them.
Fear H6342 ye not, neither be afraid: H7297 H7297 have not I told H8085 thee from that time, H227 and have declared H5046 it? ye are even my witnesses. H5707 Is there H3426 a God H433 beside H1107 me? yea, there is no God; H6697 I know H3045 not any. They that make H3335 a graven image H6459 are all of them vanity; H8414 and their delectable things H2530 shall not profit; H3276 and they are their own witnesses; H5707 they see H7200 not, nor know; H3045 that they may be ashamed. H954 Who hath formed H3335 a god, H410 or molten H5258 a graven image H6459 that is profitable H3276 for nothing? H1115 Behold, all his fellows H2270 shall be ashamed: H954 and the workmen, H2796 they are of men: H120 let them all be gathered together, H6908 let them stand up; H5975 yet they shall fear, H6342 and they shall be ashamed H954 together. H3162 The smith H1270 H2796 with the tongs H4621 both worketh H6466 in the coals, H6352 and fashioneth H3335 it with hammers, H4717 and worketh H6466 it with the strength H3581 of his arms: H2220 yea, he is hungry, H7457 and his strength H3581 faileth: H369 he drinketh H8354 no water, H4325 and is faint. H3286 The carpenter H2796 H6086 stretcheth out H5186 his rule; H6957 he marketh it out H8388 with a line; H8279 he fitteth H6213 it with planes, H4741 and he marketh it out H8388 with the compass, H4230 and maketh H6213 it after the figure H8403 of a man, H376 according to the beauty H8597 of a man; H120 that it may remain H3427 in the house. H1004 He heweth him down H3772 cedars, H730 and taketh H3947 the cypress H8645 and the oak, H437 which he strengtheneth H553 for himself among the trees H6086 of the forest: H3293 he planteth H5193 an ash, H766 and the rain H1653 doth nourish H1431 it. Then shall it be for a man H120 to burn: H1197 for he will take H3947 thereof, and warm H2552 himself; yea, he kindleth H5400 it, and baketh H644 bread; H3899 yea, he maketh H6466 a god, H410 and worshippeth H7812 it; he maketh H6213 it a graven image, H6459 and falleth down H5456 thereto. He burneth H8313 part H2677 thereof in H1119 the fire; H784 with part H2677 thereof he eateth H398 flesh; H1320 he roasteth H6740 roast, H6748 and is satisfied: H7646 yea, he warmeth H2552 himself, and saith, H559 Aha, H1889 I am warm, H2552 I have seen H7200 the fire: H217 And the residue H7611 thereof he maketh H6213 a god, H410 even his graven image: H6459 he falleth down H5456 unto it, and worshippeth H7812 it, and prayeth H6419 unto it, and saith, H559 Deliver H5337 me; for thou art my god. H410 They have not known H3045 nor understood: H995 for he hath shut H2902 their eyes, H5869 that they cannot see; H7200 and their hearts, H3826 that they cannot understand. H7919 And none considereth H7725 in his heart, H3820 neither is there knowledge H1847 nor understanding H8394 to say, H559 I have burned H8313 part H2677 of it in H1119 the fire; H784 yea, also I have baked H644 bread H3899 upon the coals H1513 thereof; I have roasted H6740 flesh, H1320 and eaten H398 it: and shall I make H6213 the residue H3499 thereof an abomination? H8441 shall I fall down H5456 to the stock H944 of a tree? H6086 He feedeth H7462 on ashes: H665 a deceived H2048 heart H3820 hath turned him aside, H5186 that he cannot deliver H5337 his soul, H5315 nor say, H559 Is there not a lie H8267 in my right hand? H3225 Remember H2142 these, O Jacob H3290 and Israel; H3478 for thou art my servant: H5650 I have formed H3335 thee; thou art my servant: H5650 O Israel, H3478 thou shalt not be forgotten H5382 of me. I have blotted out, H4229 as a thick cloud, H5645 thy transgressions, H6588 and, as a cloud, H6051 thy sins: H2403 return H7725 unto me; for I have redeemed H1350 thee. Sing, H7442 O ye heavens; H8064 for the LORD H3068 hath done H6213 it: shout, H7321 ye lower parts H8482 of the earth: H776 break forth H6476 into singing, H7440 ye mountains, H2022 O forest, H3293 and every tree H6086 therein: for the LORD H3068 hath redeemed H1350 Jacob, H3290 and glorified H6286 himself in Israel. H3478 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 thy redeemer, H1350 and he that formed H3335 thee from the womb, H990 I am the LORD H3068 that maketh H6213 all things; that stretcheth forth H5186 the heavens H8064 alone; that spreadeth abroad H7554 the earth H776 by myself; That frustrateth H6565 the tokens H226 of the liars, H907 and maketh diviners H7080 mad; H1984 that turneth H7725 wise H2450 men backward, H268 and maketh their knowledge H1847 foolish; H5528 That confirmeth H6965 the word H1697 of his servant, H5650 and performeth H7999 the counsel H6098 of his messengers; H4397 that saith H559 to Jerusalem, H3389 Thou shalt be inhabited; H3427 and to the cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 Ye shall be built, H1129 and I will raise up H6965 the decayed places H2723 thereof: That saith H559 to the deep, H6683 Be dry, H2717 and I will dry up H3001 thy rivers: H5104 That saith H559 of Cyrus, H3566 He is my shepherd, H7462 and shall perform H7999 all my pleasure: H2656 even saying H559 to Jerusalem, H3389 Thou shalt be built; H1129 and to the temple, H1964 Thy foundation shall be laid. H3245
Bel H1078 boweth down, H3766 Nebo H5015 stoopeth, H7164 their idols H6091 were upon the beasts, H2416 and upon the cattle: H929 your carriages H5385 were heavy loaden; H6006 they are a burden H4853 to the weary H5889 beast. They stoop, H7164 they bow down H3766 together; H3162 they could H3201 not deliver H4422 the burden, H4853 but themselves H5315 are gone H1980 into captivity. H7628
For the customs H2708 of the people H5971 are vain: H1892 for one cutteth H3772 a tree H6086 out of the forest, H3293 the work H4639 of the hands H3027 of the workman, H2796 with the axe. H4621 They deck H3302 it with silver H3701 and with gold; H2091 they fasten H2388 it with nails H4548 and with hammers, H4717 that it move H6328 not. They are upright H4749 as the palm tree, H8560 but speak H1696 not: they must needs H5375 be borne, H5375 because they cannot go. H6805 Be not afraid H3372 of them; for they cannot do evil, H7489 neither also is it in them to do good. H3190
Every man H120 is brutish H1197 in his knowledge: H1847 every founder H6884 is confounded H3001 by the graven image: H6459 for his molten image H5262 is falsehood, H8267 and there is no breath H7307 in them. They are vanity, H1892 and the work H4639 of errors: H8595 in the time H6256 of their visitation H6486 they shall perish. H6
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 96
Commentary on Psalms 96 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
A Greeting of the Coming Kingdom of God
What Psalms 95:3 says: “A great God is Jahve, and a great King above all gods,” is repeated in Psalms 96:1-13. The lxx inscribes it (1) ᾠδὴ τῷ Δαυίδ , and the chronicler has really taken it up almost entire in the song which was sung on the day when the Ark was brought in ( 1 Chronicles 16:23-33); but, as the coarse seams between vv. 22-23, vv. 33-34 show, he there strings together familiar reminiscences of the Psalms (vid., on Ps 105) as a sort of mosaic, in order approximately to express the festive mood and festive strains of that day. And (2) ὅτε ὁ οἶκος ᾠκοδομεῖτο (Cod. Vat. ᾠκοδόμηται ) μετὰ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν . By this the lxx correctly interprets the Psalm as a post-exilic song: and the Psalm corresponds throughout to the advance which the mind of Israel has experienced in the Exile concerning its mission in the world. The fact that the religion of Jahve is destined for mankind at large, here receives the most triumphantly joyous, lyrical expression. And so far as this is concerned, the key-note of the Psalm is even deutero-Isaianic. For it is one chief aim of Isaiah 40:1 to declare the pinnacle of glory of the Messianic apostolic mission on to which Israel is being raised through the depth of affliction of the Exile. All these post-exilic songs come much nearer to the spirit of the New Testament than the pre-exilic; for the New Testament, which is the intrinsic character of the Old Testament freed from its barriers and limitations, is in process of coming into being ( im Werden begriffen ) throughout the Old Testament, and the Exile was one of the most important crises in this progressive process.
Psalms 96:1 are more Messianic than many in the strict sense of the word Messianic; for the central (gravitating) point of the Old Testament gospel ( Heilsverkündigung ) lies not in the Messiah, but in the appearing (parusia) of Jahve - a fact which is explained by the circumstance that the mystery of the incarnation still lies beyond the Old Testament knowledge or perception of salvation. All human intervention in the matter of salvation accordingly appears as purely human, and still more, it preserves a national and therefore outward and natural impress by virtue of the national limit within which the revelation of salvation has entered. If the ideal Davidic king who is expected even does anything superhuman, he is nevertheless only a man - a man of God, it is true, without his equal, but not the God-man. The mystery of the incarnation does, it is true, the nearer it comes to actual revelation, cast rays of its dawning upon prophecy, but the sun itself remains below the horizon: redemption is looked for as Jahve's own act, and “Jahve cometh” is also still the watchword of the last prophet (Malachi 3:1).
The five six-line strophes of the Psalm before us are not to be mistaken. The chronicler has done away with five lines, and thereby disorganized the strophic structure; and one line ( Psalms 96:10 ) he has removed from its position. The originality of the Psalm in the Psalter, too, is revealed thereby, and the non-independence of the chronicler, who treats the Psalm as an historian.
Call to the nation of Jahve to sing praise to its God and to evangelize the heathen. שׁירוּ is repeated three times. The new song assumes a new form of things, and the call thereto, a present which appeared to be a beginning that furnished a guarantee of this new state of things, a beginning viz., of the recognition of Jahve throughout the whole world of nations, and of His accession to the lordship over the whole earth. The new song is an echo of the approaching revelation of salvation and of glory, and this is also the inexhaustible material of the joyful tidings that go forth from day to day ( מיּום ליום as in Esther 3:7, whereas in the Chronicles it is מיום אל־יום as in Numbers 30:15). We read Psalms 96:1 verbally the same in Isaiah 42:10; Psalms 96:2 calls to mind Isaiah 52:7; Isaiah 60:6; and Psalms 96:3 , Isaiah 66:19.
Confirmation of the call from the glory of Jahve that is now become manifest. The clause Psalms 96:4 , as also Psalms 145:3, is taken out of Psalms 48:2. כל־אלהים is the plural of כּל־אלוהּ , every god, 2 Chronicles 32:15; the article may stand here or be omitted (Psalms 95:3, cf. Psalms 113:4). All the elohim, i.e., gods, of the peoples are אלילים (from the negative אל ), nothings and good-for-nothings, unreal and useless. The lxx renders δαιμόνια , as though the expression were שׁדים (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:20), more correctly εἴδωλα in Revelation 9:20. What Psalms 96:5 says is wrought out in Isa 40, Isa 44, and elsewhere; אלילים is a name of idols that occurs nowhere more frequently than in Isaiah. The sanctuary (Psalms 96:6) is here the earthly sanctuary. From Jerusalem, over which the light arises first of all (Isa. 60), Jahve's superterrestrial doxa now reveals itself in the world. הוד־והדר is the usual pair of words for royal glory. The chronicler reads Psalms 96:6 עז וחדוה בּמקמו , might and joy are in His place ( הדוה( ecalp siH ni era yoj d a late word, like אחוה , brotherhood, brotherly affection, from an old root, Exodus 18:9). With the place of God one might associate the thought of the celestial place of God transcending space; the chronicler may, however, have altered במקדשׁו into במקמו because when the Ark was brought in, the Temple ( בית המקדשׁ ) was not yet built.
Call to the families of the peoples to worship God, the One, living, and glorious God. הבוּ is repeated three times here as Psalms 29:1-11, of which the whole strophe is an echo. Isaiah (ch. 60) sees them coming in with the gifts which they are admonished to bring with them into the courts of Jahve (in Chr. only: לפניו ). Instead of בּהדרת קדשׁ here and in the chronicler, the lxx brings the courts ( חצרת ) in once more; but the dependence of the strophe upon Psalms 29:1-11 furnishes a guarantee for the “holy attire,” similar to the wedding garment in the New Testament parable. Instead of מפּניו , Psalms 96:9 , the chronicler has מלּפניו , just as he also alternates with both forms, 2 Chronicles 32:7, cf. 1 Chronicles 19:18.
That which is to be said among the peoples is the joyous evangel of the kingdom of heaven which is now come and realized. The watchword is “Jahve is King,” as in Isaiah 52:7. The lxx correctly renders: ὁ κύριος ἐβασίλευσε
(Note: In the Psalterium Veronense with the addition apo xylu, Cod. 156, Latinizing ἀπὸ τῷ ξύλῳ ; in the Latin Psalters (the Vulgate excepted) a ligno , undoubtedly an addition by an early Christian hand, upon which, however, great value is set by Justin and all the early Latin Fathers.)
for מלך is intended historically (Revelation 11:17). אף , as in Psalms 93:1, introduces that which results from this fact, and therefore to a certain extent goes beyond it. The world below, hitherto shaken by war and anarchy, now stands upon foundations that cannot be shaken in time to come, under Jahve's righteous and gentle sway. This is the joyful tidings of the new era which the poet predicts from out of his own times, when he depicts the joy that will then pervade the whole creation; in connection with which it is hardly intentional that Psalms 96:11 and Psalms 96:11 acrostically contain the divine names יהוה and יהו . This joining of all creatures in the joy at Jahve's appearing is a characteristic feature of Isaiah 40:1. These cords are already struck in Isaiah 35:1. “The sea and its fulness” as in Isaiah 42:10. In the chronicler Psalms 96:10 ( ויאמרו instead of אמרו ) stands between Psalms 96:11 and Psalms 96:11 - according to Hitzig, who uses all his ingenuity here in favour of that other recension of the text, by an oversight of the copyist.
The chronicler changes שׂדי into the prosaic השּׂדה , and כל־עצי־יעל with the omission of the כל into עצי היּער . The psalmist on his part follows the model of Isaiah, who makes the trees of the wood exult and clap their hands, Psalms 55:12; Psalms 44:23. The אז , which points into this festive time of all creatures which begins with Jahve's coming, is as in Isaiah 35:5. Instead of לפני , “before,” the chronicler has the מלּפני so familiar to him, by which the joy is denoted as being occasioned by Jahve's appearing. The lines Psalms 96:13 sound very much like Psalms 9:9. The chronicler has abridged Psalms 96:13, by hurrying on to the mosaic-work portion taken from Ps 105. The poet at the close glances from the ideal past into the future. The twofold בּא is a participle, Ew. §200. Being come to judgment, after He has judged and sifted, executing punishment, Jahve will govern in the righteousness of mercy and in faithfulness to the promises.