Psalms
Chapter 2
This psalm opens with nations and their kings plotting to throw off the rule of the LORD and the king he has chosen. God answers from heaven, laughing at the plot and declaring that he has already set his king on Mount Zion. The king then repeats the LORD's own words to him: he is God's son, and the nations will be his. The psalm closes by warning the rulers of the earth to submit, and saying that all who take shelter in him are safe.
Plain reading written for preteens. Clear and complete, at about a fifth grade reading level.
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
1Why are the nations so angry? Why do the peoples make plans that will come to nothing?
"Heathen" in 1611 English simply meant the other nations, not people without faith. "A vain thing" means a plan that is empty and will fail.
2The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
2The kings of the earth take their stand. Their rulers meet and plot together against the LORD and against the king he chose. They say:
3Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
3"Let us break the chains they put on us. Let us throw their ropes off our necks."
4He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.
4The one who sits on his throne in heaven laughs. The Lord makes fun of them.
5Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
5Then he speaks to them in his anger. His fury fills them with terror. He says:
"Vex" here means to terrify, not to annoy. "Sore displeasure" means fierce anger.
6Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
6"I myself have set my king on Zion, my holy mountain."
7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
7I will announce what the LORD decided. He said to me, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.
8Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
8Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your own. The whole earth, out to its farthest edges, will belong to you.
9Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
9You will break them with an iron rod. You will smash them like a clay pot."
10Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
10So be wise now, you kings. Listen and learn, you rulers who judge the earth.
11Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
11Serve the LORD, and fear him. Be glad, and tremble before him.
12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
12Kiss the Son, to show you are loyal to him. If you do not, he will be angry, and you will die on the road you are walking, because his anger can flare up in a moment. Everyone who goes to him for safety is happy.
In the ancient world, people kissed a king's hand or feet to show they accepted his rule. "Kiss the Son" is that gesture of loyalty, not affection.
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