Psalm 2/Summary

Summary

Line divisions

‎1a לָמָּה רָגְשׁוּ גוֹיִם

1b וּלְאֻמִּים יֶהְגּוּ־רִיק

2a יִ֥תְיַצְּבוּ מַלְכֵי־אֶרֶץ

2b וְרוֹזְנִים נֽוֹסְדוּ־יָחַד

2c עַל־יְהוָה וְעַל־מְשִׁיחוֹ

3a נְנַתְּקָה אֶת־מוֹסְרוֹתֵימוֹ

3b וְנַשְׁלִיכָה מִמֶּנּוּ עֲבֹתֵימוֹ

4a יוֹשֵׁב בַּשָּׁמַיִם יִשְׂחָק

4b אֲדֹנָי יִלְעַג־לָמוֹ

5a אָז יְדַבֵּר אֵלֵימוֹ בְאַפּוֹ

5b וּֽבַחֲרוֹנוֹ יְבַהֲלֵמוֹ

6a וַאֲנִי נָסַכְתִּי מַלְכִּי

6b עַל־צִיּוֹן הַר־קָדְשִׁי

7a אֲסַפְּרָה אֶל חֹק

7b יְהוָה אָמַר אֵלַי

7c בְּנִי אַתָּה

7d אֲנִי הַיּוֹם יְלִדְתּֽיךָ

8a שְׁאַל מִמֶּנִּי

8b וְאֶתְּנָה גוֹיִם נַחֲלָתֶךָ

8c וַאֲחֻזָּתְךָ אַפְסֵי־אָֽרֶץ

9a תְּרֹעֵם בְּשֵׁבֶט בַּרְזֶל

9b כִּכְלִי יוֹצֵר תְּנַפְּצֵם

10a וְעַתָּה מְלָכִים הַשְׂכִּילוּ

10b הִזָּסְרוּ שֹׁפְטֵי אָרֶץ

11a עִבְדוּ אֶת־יְהוָה בְּיִרְאָה

11b וְגִילוּ בִּרְעָדָה

12a נַשְּׁקוּ־בַר

12b פֶּן־יֶאֱנַף וְתֹאבְדוּ דֶרֶךְ

12c כִּֽי־יִבְעַר כִּמְעַט אַפּוֹ

12d אַשְׁרֵי כָּל־חוֹסֵי בוֹ

The division of lines in v.7 and v.12 is difficult to determine.

• v.7. There are at least two uncertainties in v.7. In the first place, does the divine name conclude the first line (as the free member of the bound phrase חֹק יְהוָה) or begin the second line as fronted subject (יְהוָה אָמַר)? The latter option presents a better parallel in terms of length: each line has three words and six syllables. It also reproduces the pattern of Ps. 2 where an agent in focus (here, ְֽיהָ֗וה) is fronted (cf. v. 4). The second uncertainty concerns whether the following verbless clause (בְּנִי אַתָּה) constitute its own line or is it to be included with the introductory words (אָמַר אֵלַי) (so Fokkelman). The lineation above has been adopted on the basis of the parallelism: אֲסַפְּרָה אֶל חֹק // יְהוָה אָמַר אֵלַי (note parallel prepositional phrases); בְּנִי אַתָּה // אֲנִי הַיּוֹם יְלִדְתּֽיךָ (note semantic parallelism as well as possible chiasm).
• v.12. This verse contains 5 clauses. Does each clause constitute its own line or do פֶּן־יֶאֱנַף and וְתֹאבְדוּ דֶרֶךְ constitute a single line? It seems likely that these two clauses form a single line for the following reasons: both are governed by the one particle פֶּן; they are coordinated by waw; פֶּן־יֶאֱנַף, with only three (pre-masoretic) syllables and one accented syllable, is too short to stand on its own.,

Section divisions

The text consists of four stanzas, each of which is comprised of three verses, which are longer in lexical length in the second half: A (22 words), B (19), C (25), D (26).

Stanza A (vv.1-3)

Stanza B (vv.4-6)

Stanza C (vv.7-9)

Stanza D (vv.10-12)

Jacobson also proposes that the "poem consists of four stanzas, which have an A-B-B-A structure:"

St. 1 The “kings of the earth” rebel

St. 2 The divine king enthroned in heaven

St. 3 The Davidic king enthroned on Zion

St. 4 The “kings” are warned

This segmentation is based on the fact that "each of the first three stanzas ends with a quotation, each focuses on a different character or characters, and each implies a different location."

Fokkelman also segments the Psalm into four parts (what he calls Strophes instead of Stanzas), "whose contents or semantic coherence shows the AB-B'A' pattern:"

strophe 1: pretensions of people and kings (vv. 1-3)

strophe 2: God rebukes, points to Zion and his king (vv. 4-6)

strophe 3: God speaks, his king will be victorious (vv. 7-9)

strophe 4: speaker demands homage to God from kings (vv. 10-12)

Goldingay also divides the text into four sections, noting that they "work abbʹaʹ":

vv. 1– 3 The nations’ plans

vv. 4– 6 The Lord’s response to them

vv. 7– 9 The king’s own response

vv. 10– 12 the implications for the nations.,

Communicative function

The flow of principal “speech-acts” and associated “attitudes” in the psalm is as follows:

A – rulers arrogantly RENOUNCE God/divine King;

B – God angrily REPROACHES rulers;

C – Yahweh reassuringly ORDAINS Son,

D – The Son/righteous psalmist sternly REPRIMANDS rulers.

• The divine pronouncement “My son [are] you!” is clearly performative speech—the very saying accomplishes its reference.,

Cohesion

All the antagonists engaged in this cosmic drama are introduced in vv. 1-2 and remain “on stage” throughout the semi-narrative progressions that gives the text thematic cohesion (frequently underscored by chiastic syntactic constructions) as well as performative impact and poetic appeal.,

Discontinuity & boundaries

Boundaries are marked by shifts in speaker, addressee, subject, and scene. Direct speech concludes each of the first three strophes.,

Prominence

Craigie feels that the first “climax” of the psalm occurs in v. 6: “God terrifies the earthly rulers, not with any direct threat, but simply with the announcement that he has established his king in Zion”—no ordinary monarch, but one who has all the authority and power of the sole Deity, Yahweh, behind him. Craigie does not explicitly indicate where another “climax” occurs, but that must surely be in the very next verse (7), where the divine performative act is uttered: ‎בְּנִ֥י אַ֑תָּה אֲ֜נִ֗י הַיּ֥וֹם יְלִדְתִּֽיךָ. Thus, the psalm’s emotive (6) and thematic (7) high points coincide in the center of the text, whereas the implications of this momentous divine decree is situated on the borders of the text: all impudent insurrectionists (stanza A) will be mercifully given a chance to fall into line and accept the new King’s rule (and receive a blessing, v. 12c); failing that, they must face the dire consequences of God’s righteous decrees (stanza D).

Verse 7c may be the most linguistically marked line in the psalm (verbless clause + independent pronoun + evocative language [2 Sam. 7] + figurative language [metaphor] + performative speech). This short line (4 syllables), which stands at the center of the psalm (בְּנִי is the middle word) and at the head of Yahweh's 7-line decree, makes a claim (grounded in the Davidic covenant) that is foundational to the rest of the psalm.,

Main message

Two primary motives emerge, each of which is lexically supported and conceptually integrated throughout the text: human/divine SPEECH rejects // promotes KINGSHIP..

Yahweh’s heavenly kingship (section 2) is realized on earth in the reign of his king (sections 2–3) to the exclusion of all other earthly kingdoms (sections 1 and 4).,

Large-scale structures

The four parts of the Psalm are arranged chiastically. The two outer stanzas focus on earthly kings, while the inner pair focus on YHWH and his divinely anointed (Davidic) king. This thematic-pragmatic arrangement may be displayed as follows:

A (1-3) – worldly rulers verbally rebel against the LORD and “his anointed one”

B (4-6) – God silences all enemies by introducing “my king”

C (7-9) – Yahweh officially installs and commissions “my Son”

D (10-12) – worldly rulers are warned to submit to the LORD and “the Son”,

Translation

A literary (artistic-rhetorical) translation is required in order to match the verbal excellence of the original text. As Craigie correctly observes: “Through a variety of artistic devices, the poet has created a psalm of power and elegance, worthy of the drama of its theme.” Timothy Wilt (see below, from his collection, Praise, Prayer and Protest, 3) renders Psalm 2 along the lines of a poetic narrative, as suggested by Goldingay:

Warlords and petty kings ally themselves and rouse their rabble.

“We’ll be no one’s slaves. Let’s break away” they say, rebels

Against Yahweh and the one he has chosen to rule over all.

Yahweh watches from heaven. He laughs at their delusions,

for a moment, then speaks, from the holy mountain Zion: “I

have enthroned and empowered the one to rule on my behalf.”

They freeze, terrified by his anger.

Then our kind speaks: “Yahweh has said to me: ‘Today, I

Give birth to you. You are my son. Over any nation you ask

from me, wherever it may be, I give you full rights. If you wish,

take an iron club and smash the clay men.

“So swear allegiance to me, Yahweh’s chosen

representative. And serve Yahweh as subjects a breath away

from death, as ones whose slightest offense will rouse his

annihilating anger.”

How wonderful it is

for those who come to Yahweh for protection!

—For the Royalty

The second example of Psalm 2 is a “metrical version” in English composed by Fred R. Anderson. He defines this as “a poetic paraphrase of a biblical text, set in contemporary, vernacular language, versified in strict meter, and usually rhymed, so that it can be sung to a well-known tune of the same metrical setting. Metrical settings are characterized and named by the number of syllables in each line and the number of lines in each stanza (there are no limits to stanzas, but three to five are quite normal).” The meter for Psalm 2 is given as: 7.7.7.7 D – Aberystwyth, Hintze.

Why are the nations gumbling,

And conspiring plots in vain?

Rulers of the world rise up,

Weaving webs of death and pain.

Then against the Lord they cry,

And against God’s Holy Son,

“Let us tear their bonds from us,

And with their control be done.”

But the Lord has scorn on them,

Laughing and enthroned on high;

God brings wrath upon their work,

Filled with anger God replies:

“It is my own holy will

That the Christ on earth shall reign,

And on Zion’s holy hill

My anointed I’ll maintain.”

God’s decree unto the King

Tells what the Lord did say:

“You are my own holy child,

I’ve begotten you this day.

Ask of me and I will make

All the nations your own stay.

These possessions you shall rule,

Strong as iron smashing clay.”

Therefore leaders of the earth,

Serve the Lord with holy fear;

Trembling come before the throne,

Or God’s anger will appear.

Kiss God’s feet in trembling awe,

Or the Lord will use the rod,

Making beggars of all kings.

Blest are those who trust in God.

The third and final example of a poetic translation comes from the restructuring of Psalm 2 prepared by William A. Smalley, with special emphasis upon the “expressive function” of language, that is, in an effort to recreate in English “the mood and emotional thrust of the Psalm.”

The subject peoples are planning rebellion...

Their people are plotting...

Their kings and rulers join in revolt...

“Freedom!” they say,

“Freedom from rule!”

“off with control

of the Lord

and the king he has chosen.”

Plotting

Useless plots.

Why?

The Lord laughs on his throne.

Mocks them in heaven.

Furious, he terrifies them,

Speaks to them, angry,

"I have installed the king,

Placed him on Zion,

My holy hill.”

And the king announces

what the Lord has declared to him:

“You are my son.

Today I became your father.

Ask me for the nations,

and I’ll give you them.

Ask for the earth,

and the whole world will be yours

to rule.

Break the nations in pieces

Like a clay pot smashes.

Rule them with a harsh king’s rule.”

So listen closely, rebel kings.

Watch out, you plotting rulers.

Tremble!

Bow down!

Serve him with fear

or you will die!

But people are happy

who go to the Lord

for protection.

Smalley concludes with several caveats regarding poetic translation.

• The better the poem, of course, the more subtle and powerful is its text structure ..., the tightly-knit interplay of many elements on many levels of deep and surface structure. This cannot be preserved as such in translation, but elements of deep structure which the translator keeps must be formed into a new intricate text structure in the receptor language.
• A dynamic equivalent translation must evoke [the original functions], and although the information content should be fully preserved in translation, it should be integrated with the expressive function, which is primary. As with all translation, this can only be done in English by changing the poetic form, and translating the meaning in terms of another surface structure than that of the original.
• To the degree that there is a poem in the original there should be a poem of nearly equivalent value in the receptor language if the other functions involved are also suitable to verse form in the receptor language.
• Translation is not an interlingual Xerox process which produces the same work of art in another language. Every piece of literary art, whether a poem or a piece of literary prose, is in some respects unique. It is a unique combination of deep and surface structure elements, and has a gestalt all its own. ... If the restructuring is done by an artist equivalent to the original artists, presumably he [she] can produce an equivalent piece of literary art with a different surface structure, but with the same content and function.

Poetic Translation by Brad Willits

The kings of the earth gather together,

and stand against Yahweh and his Chosen King.

They declare, “We will not serve him, we will rebel.”(1)

Why do the nations conspire against Him?

What do the people plot their rebellion?

Such action is futile! (2)

King God in heaven laughs at them.

He mocks them.

He rebukes them in anger.

His wrath terrifies them. (3)

He declares, “I have chosen the King

On my holy hill of Zion.”

This is how God proclaimed me to be King. (4)

He said to me:

Today you become my Son.

Today I become your Father.

Ask me and I will give you the nations.

Ask me and I will give you the earth.

You will rule them with a fist of iron.

You will break them like a clay pot. (5)

Kings and rulers, think about your decision to rebel. (6)

You have been warned. (7)

Serve Yahweh with fear.

Be happy that you can. (8)

Show him true honor and affection (9)

Lest you be destroyed in your rebellion

Since he can easily wipe you out in his wrath.

Blessed are those who allow Him to protect themselves.

Notes about the Translation with Principles for Translators:

1. the metaphor of “breaking chains and fetters” has been changed to a non symbolic statement to avoid the negative connotation of God chaining up people.
2. Significant reordering has been done in this first stanza.
3. Repetition of structure has been used to underline the intensity.
4. The theme of the “declaration” connects to the previous verse, and the translation specifies that the direct quotation is the “manner” in which God made his declaration.
5. Three parallel couplets using grammatical structure and semantic content highlight the poetical nature of the passage.
6. The reference to “wisdom” has been changed because of its positive and noble connotation.
7. An idiomatic phrase has been used in this line.
8. This line tries to make sense out of the phrase “rejoice with trembling.”
9. The significance of the “kiss” has been portrayed instead of the cultural manner in which it was originally expressed.,

Outline or visual representation

Wendland's Expository outline:

I. The psalmist describes the attack: (1-2)

A. The heathen rage. But don’t fear because...

Ps 9:15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

Ps 33:10: The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

B. The people have vain imaginations. “The people” indicate this was a popular, grassroots attack. Vain means “empty”.

2 Cor 10:5: Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

C. The kings and rulers take counsel and set themselves against their target.

1. It is a deliberate plan. “Set” means they take up a deliberate position.

2. Their target is the Lord (YHWH) and His Anointed (Jesus, the Messiah); God’s plans, people, and purposes.

3. The kings are political rulers.

4. The rulers are religious rulers.

II. Their announcements: (3)

A. Let us break their bands asunder.

B. Let us cast away their cords from us.

1. They want to rid themselves of all restraint.

Someday, the Holy Spirit who restrains will be taken out of the way and then the Antichrist will be revealed: 2 Th 2:7-10: For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

2. What are some of the bands they want to cast away?

a. The bands of marriage.

b. The bands of God’s Word.

c. The bands of the laws of God and the land.

III. The Almighty: (4-9)

A. His response:

1. He laughs (mocks) them.

Ps 59:8: But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them...

Little men who defy God aren’t around long: For example, Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler, etc.

2. He will have them in derision.

Ps 59:8: But thou, O Lord...shalt have all the heathen in derision.

3. He troubles and terrifies them.

B. His rebuke:

1. He has already anointed, installed, and placed His King on His holy hill.

a. While they are proposing, God is disposing: He has already disposed of the matter. His King, Jesus Christ, is enthroned. As the book of Revelation reveals, their rebellion is futile.

C. His rule: (7-9)

1. He anoints and sets the anointed one in His place.

2. He is the one who anoints us also and gives to us, as heirs of Christ:

a. The nations as an inheritance.

b. The uttermost parts of the earth as a possession.

3. He empowers us to rule over all.

4. He will resurrect His only begotten Son: Compare 2:7 with Acts 13:33.

IV. The advice: (10-12)

A. Act wisely.

B. Serve the Lord with fear (reverent awe).

C. Rejoice with trembling (lest you displease Him).

Ps 18:49: Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

D. Kiss the Son (pay homage to Him), lest you perish from the way when His wrath is kindled.

V. The advantage: (12) Those who put their trust in Him are blessed.

Study further on trusting the Lord in Psalms and Proverbs. Here is a sampling:

Ps 4:5: Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.

Ps 5:11: But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Ps 9:10: And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Ps 18:30: As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Ps 20:7: Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

Ps 31:6: I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord.

Ps 37:3: Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Ps 37:40: And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

Ps 37:40: And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

Ps 56:4: In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

Ps 56:11: In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

Ps 62:8: Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Ps 64:10: The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

Ps 71:5: For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.

Prov 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Prov 29:25: The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Prov 30:5: Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.