Psalm 2/Translation/Tips

The following gives a basic Overview of the Psalm, answering the following questions:

• ● Title-what title best describes this unique psalm?
  • ○ "My king on Zion"
• ● Purpose–why was this psalm written?
  • ○ To call the rebellious kings of the earth to submit to YHWH and his king.
• ● Content–In summary, what is said in this psalm?
  • ○ Serve YHWH and submit to his king!
• ● Message–what is the general theme of this psalm? What seems to be the main point the psalmist wanted his audience to realize by hearing this psalm?
  • ○ YHWH's anointed king will rule the world.

Every psalm has a coherent story behind it. However, many psalms are not written in typical "story" format, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Here, we attempt to understand the story and background that prompted the psalmist to write.

• ● Story Behind-How do the various parts of the psalm fit together into a single, coherent story? What is the main message/theme conveyed by this "story behind"?
  • ○ Before the psalm begins, YHWH enthrones his king, but nations and their rulers rebel against YHWH and his anointed king.
  • ○ As the psalm continues, YHWH laughs at the nations and their rulers because of their rebellion.
  • ○ Next, YHWH and his anointed king declare their sovereignty, and this is the turning point in the story when the tension begins to resolve.
  • ○ Then, the anointed king summons the rulers to submission.
  • ○ The psalm then ends, but not before he calls the nations and their rulers to submit to YHWH and his anointed king.
• ● Background Situation-what are the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm was written?

Knowing the layout of the sections of the psalm by sections helps us to understand the progression of thought as the poem progresses.

How to read the visual below: The picture below shows the main “chunks” or pieces of the poem. Verse numbers appear on the left. The second column has a title for each section. The large third column contains a brief summary of the section’s content. As you read through the content column, you will see important words and ideas highlighted in similar colors. The icons on the right may be used as memory aids.

 

 

Progression–what is the flow of thought as the poem progresses?

• ● The psalm begins by asking why kings and nations would rebel against YHWH (verses 1-2). The psalmist quotes the kings' plans to set themselves free from YHWH (verse 3).
• ● Then, the psalmist describes YHWH's mocking and furious response to the kings' plans (verses 4-5). The psalmist quotes YHWH's statement that he has poured out his king on Mount Zion (verse 6).
• ● The psalmist then recounts the decree that YHWH made to his king. YHWH tells the king that he is YHWH's son (verse 7), that YHWH will give the earthly nations to the king (verse 8), and that the king will destroy his enemies (verse 9).
• ● Finally, the psalm ends with a final demand (an "ultimatum") to the earthly kings, that they should serve the Lord and his king (verses 10-12).

Part of poetry is communicating emotion. Each section, and even each verse, can contain a number of different emotions. Here are the main emotional themes of each section:

• ● In the first section (verses 1-3), the psalmist expresses contempt for the rebel kings.
• ● In the second section, YHWH expresses contempt for the rebel kings (verse 4), and the psalmist expresses awe at YHWH and his king (verses 5-6).
• ● In the third section (verses 7-9), the psalmist expresses confidence in YHWH's decree.
• ● In the fourth section (verses 10-12), the psalmist expresses contempt for the rebel kings.

In poetry, it is important to keep track of who is speaking, who is the audience, and what it is that the speaker is trying to do with his words.

How to read the visual below: In the chart below, the left-hand column identifies the speaker. In verses 1-6, the psalmist is the speaker, and in verses 3 and 6 the psalmist reports the speech of the nations and YHWH. In verses 7-9, the speaker is the king, and in verses 10-12 the speaker is the psalmist. The right-hand column identifies the audience. In verses 1-6, the audience is the listeners, while in verses 3 and 6 the audience of the reported speech is the nations. In verses 7-12, the audience is the nations. The middle column has bolded grey boxes that tell what the speaker is trying to do with his words (his speech acts) in each section. Under each grey box is a summary of what the speaker says.

 

In poetry, it is important to keep track of who is speaking, who is the audience, and what it is that the speaker is trying to do with his words.

Poetic Feature 1: Heaven and Earth and In Between

 

The movement of the Psalm is from earth up to heaven, and then slowly downward, from heaven, to a mountain, and finally back to earth. The first section of the Psalm (verses 1-3) is about the "kings of earth." The second section (verses 4-6) is about YHWH, who is referred to as the "one who rules in the heavens." The third section (verses 7-9) is spoken by the king who is on YHWH's "holy mountain," the meeting place between heaven and earth. Finally, the last section of the psalm (verses 10-12) comes back down to where the psalm started, addressing the "rulers of earth."

The psalm is like a play about the great forces of power in the world. At the beginning of the psalm, the earthly kings are rebelling against the ruler of heaven, and at the end of the psalm they are summoned to submit to God’s king on Mount Zion, and thereby submit to the king of heaven. The center of the drama is Mount Zion, the meeting place between heaven and earth. Mount Zion is the place where the conflict between YHWH and the earthly kings resolves. It is the site where YHWH’s heavenly rule begins to take place on earth, because it is where YHWH places his anointed ruler as king.

 

Poetic Feature 2: Dramatic Conversation

 

 

The speeches are part of what makes Psalm 2 unique compared to other poems in the Psalter. It is as though we are watching a play in which each of the major characters has a speaking part. The psalm begins and ends with an anonymous psalmist speaking (see Participants and Speech Acts). In verse 3, the nations speak; in verse 6, YHWH speaks; and in verses 7-9, the king speaks and quotes YHWH's decree (verses 7b-9).

Each of the first three sections (verses 1-3; verses 4-6; verses 7-9) ends with a speech. Unexpectedly, though, the fourth section (verses 10-12) does not conclude with a speech but an ultimatum to the early kings. We are left wondering what the nations will say in response. Will they accept the king's rule and join those who "take refuge in him" (verse 12c), or will they continue their rebellion and perish in their way (verse 12b)?

Poetic Feature 3: Think Again

The first section of the psalm ends in verse 3 with the rebellious kings declaring that they will resist YHWH's rule. But the final section of the psalm contains the psalmist’s response in verses 10-12. Here, the psalmist challenges the rebellious kings and calls upon them to reverse their behavior.

Interestingly, in Hebrew, many of the words in YHWH's response sound similar to the words used by the kings in their original challenge (for a picture of this effect, click )). In fact, every verb and noun from the nation's speech in verse 3 has some sound echo in verses 10-11. The words with similar sounds are matched by colored boxes in the diagram above. Translators may seek to construct similar sound-play in their translations.

Prominence–what words, phrases, or ideas are most important in this psalm?: It is also important to consider how the author chose to draw attention to certain parts of the psalm. Here are the parts of the psalm that we believe are most prominent, and thus should be most prominent in a performance of the psalm.

 

The speeches in verses 3, 6, and 7b-9 are prominent within their sections and the psalm as a whole.

 

The most prominent part of the psalm is verses 7a-b. Verse 7a is the middle line of the psalm, with 13 lines coming before and 13 lines coming after. The divine name, YHWH, appears 3 times in this psalm, and the middle of these appearances is in verse 7b. These verses contain a double introduction to the psalmist's speech: both "I will tell about the decree" and "YHWH said to me." In terms of story, the statement that the king is YHWH's son ties the psalm to 2 Sam 7:14 and the history of the line of kings that began with David. Thematically, the statement that the king is YHWH's son forms the basis for the promises in verses 8-9 and the warnings to the rebellious kings in verses 10-12.