Psalms 60

God, you have rejected us. You have broken our lines and scattered us. You have been angry with us. Now turn back to us again!

1O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.

NoteThe verbs are military. "Broken" is the word used for breaking through a wall or a line of defense, and "scattered" is what happens to an army once that line gives way. The psalm speaks throughout in the voice of a whole nation just after a defeat in battle.

2You made the land shake. You tore it open. Heal the cracks in it, because it is still shaking.

2Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.

NoteThe picture shifts to an earthquake. The "cracks" are the same kind of gap as the breach in verse 1, so the land itself is described as a wall that has been broken open.

3You have made your people go through hard things. You gave us wine that left us staggering.

3Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.

NoteThe Hebrew phrase is "wine of reeling." A cup that leaves the drinker staggering was a standard image for a people left dazed and helpless after a disaster, unable to stand up straight.

4You have raised a flag for those who honor you, so that it can be lifted up because of the truth. Selah.

4Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.

NoteA banner here is a military standard: a pole or ensign raised on high ground so that scattered troops could see where to gather. The last phrase is genuinely uncertain, the same Hebrew consonants can mean "because of the truth," as the King James takes it, or "before the bow," that is, a place to flee from enemy archers. "Selah" is a term found mainly in the Psalms, marking some kind of break, probably a musical pause or interlude; its exact sense was already lost in ancient times.

5Rescue us, so the people you love may be set free. Save us with your strong right hand, and answer me.

5That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.

NoteThe right hand is the sword hand. Throughout the Hebrew Bible "right hand" stands for strength and effective power.

6God has spoken from his holy place: "I will celebrate. I will divide up the town of Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth as my own.

6God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

Note"From his holy place" can mean from his sanctuary, or "by his holiness," that is, swearing an oath on himself. Shechem is a town in the hill country west of the Jordan; the valley of Succoth lies east of the river. Naming one on each side is a way of saying the whole land. Dividing land and measuring it out with a line is what a victorious king does when he parcels out conquered territory among his own people.

7Gilead belongs to me, and Manasseh belongs to me. Ephraim is the helmet on my head. Judah is the staff that rules.

7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;

NoteGilead and Manasseh are territories east of the Jordan; Ephraim and Judah are the two dominant tribes west of it. Calling Ephraim the helmet makes that tribe the speaker's armor, the tribe that took the blows. The word behind "lawgiver" and "the staff that rules" is the commander's staff or scepter, the mark of the one who issues orders.

8Moab is my washbasin. I throw my sandal down on Edom to claim it. Shout in triumph because of me, Philistia!"

8Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.

NoteMoab, Edom and Philistia were neighboring peoples and long-standing enemies of Israel: Moab and Edom east and south-east of the Dead Sea, Philistia on the coastal plain to the west. A washbasin is the bowl a servant carries in for washing dirty feet, the most menial vessel in a household. Throwing a sandal down on a piece of ground was a recognized legal gesture of claiming it as your property. The last line is ambiguous in Hebrew: it can be read as a taunt ordering Philistia to cheer, or, as the parallel in Psalm 108 has it, as "over Philistia I shout in triumph."

9Who will bring me into the walled city? Who will lead me into Edom?

9Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?

NoteThe walled city is a fortress in Edom, probably Bozrah or the rock stronghold of Sela, cities set high among cliffs and famously hard to capture.

10Will you not do it, God, even though you have rejected us? You are the God who stopped marching out with our armies.

10Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?

Note"Marching out with the armies" is the ordinary Hebrew idiom for God going to war alongside Israel's troops. The complaint is that he has stopped doing it.

11Help us against our trouble, because help from people is worth nothing.

11Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.

12With God's help we will fight bravely, and he is the one who will trample our enemies.

12Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.