Psalms 66

Shout to God with joy, everyone on earth!

1Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:

Note"Make a joyful noise" translates a Hebrew word for a loud ceremonial shout, the roar a crowd raised to greet a king or to signal an army. It is a deliberate blast of sound, not singing. "All ye lands" is literally "all the earth," meaning every nation, not just Israel.

2Sing about the glory of his name. Make his praise glorious.

2Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.

3Say to God, "How awesome the things you do are! Your power is so great that your enemies come cringing to you in pretended surrender.

3Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

Note"Terrible" in 1611 English meant awe-inspiring, dread-producing (something that makes onlookers afraid. It did not mean "bad" or "of poor quality," as it does now. The modern word "awesome" has drifted the other way: here it carries its full old weight of fear, not casual enthusiasm. "Submit themselves" renders a Hebrew verb suggesting cringing or feigned obedience) the enemies yield because they have no choice, which is not the same as loyalty.

4Everyone on earth bows down to you and sings to you. They sing praise to your name." Selah.

4All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.

Note"Selah" appears seventy-one times in the Psalms and nobody now knows what it meant. It is most often taken as a musical or performance direction (a pause, a swell of instruments, a cue to lift the voice) but that is a guess. Translators traditionally leave it untranslated rather than pretend to certainty.

5Come and see what God has done. The things he does for people are awesome.

5Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.

6He turned the sea into dry ground. They walked through the river on foot. There we were glad because of him.

6He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

NoteThis looks back to two remembered crossings: the sea that opened for the Israelites escaping Egypt, and the Jordan river that stopped so they could enter Canaan. "Flood" in 1611 English meant a river or body of flowing water, not a disaster of overflowing water. Note the shift to "we", the singer, generations later, speaks of the ancient rescue as something his own community lived through.

7He rules by his power forever. His eyes watch the nations. Do not let those who rebel against him lift themselves up. Selah.

7He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.

8Praise our God, you peoples. Let the sound of his praise be heard.

8O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:

9He is the one who keeps us alive, and he does not let our feet slip.

9Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.

10For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us the way silver is refined in fire.

10For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

NoteRefining silver meant melting the ore at high heat so that the impurities separated out and could be skimmed away, leaving pure metal. The image is standard in Hebrew poetry for hardship that is purposeful rather than random, the fire is applied by someone who wants a result.

11You brought us into the net. You laid a heavy load on our backs.

11Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.

NoteThe "net" is a hunter's or fowler's net, thrown over prey to trap it, a frequent image for being caught with no way out. The second line literally says a constricting band was placed on the loins or hips, the picture either of a pack strapped onto a beast of burden or of a prisoner's bonds.

12You made men ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us out into a place of plenty.

12Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

NoteRiding over people's heads describes the aftermath of a defeat: the victors drive their horses or chariots across the bodies of the fallen. "A wealthy place" in 1611 English meant a place of well-being and plenty, not specifically of money; the Hebrew word suggests saturation, being drenched with abundance after drought.

13I will come into your house with burnt offerings. I will keep the promises I made to you,

13I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,

Note"Thy house" is the temple in Jerusalem. A burnt offering was the costliest kind: the entire animal was burned on the altar, with nothing kept back for the worshiper to eat, unlike other sacrifices that were shared as a meal. To "pay a vow" was to carry out a promise made under pressure, people commonly vowed a specific sacrifice if they were rescued, and the debt fell due once the rescue came.

14the promises my lips said out loud and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.

14Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.

15I will offer you the best of my animals as burnt offerings, along with the smoke of burning rams. I will offer bulls and goats. Selah.

15I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.

Note"Fatlings" were animals deliberately fattened for slaughter, the most valuable in the flock. "The incense of rams" does not mean incense burned alongside them; it refers to the fragrant smoke rising from the burning rams themselves. The list (fatlings, rams, bulls, goats) is a large and expensive offering, the scale signaling how serious the vow was.

16Come and listen, all of you who honor God, and I will tell you what he has done for me.

16Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

NoteTo "fear God" in Hebrew usage means reverence and loyal allegiance, closer to how one might regard a rightful king, rather than being frightened of him. "All ye that fear God" is close to "everyone who is devoted to God", an audience, not a crowd of the terrified.

17I called out to him with my mouth, and praise for him was on my tongue.

17I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.

NoteThe second line is genuinely difficult in Hebrew. It reads something like "high praise was under my tongue," which translators have taken either as the singer praising God, or as praise already prepared and waiting in his mouth even while he was still crying for help. The King James "he was extolled with my tongue" picks the first; the ambiguity is in the original.

18If I had held on to sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened to me.

18If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Note"Regard" here means to look on with approval and hold onto, not merely to notice. The line describes cherishing a wrong and intending to keep it, and the claim is about prayer being blocked by that intent, the speaker is saying he did not do this, since verse 19 reports that he was heard.

19But God really has listened. He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.

19But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.

20Praise be to God, who has not turned my prayer away and has not held back his faithful love from me.

20Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

NoteThe Hebrew word behind "mercy" is *hesed*, one of the hardest words in the Bible to render. It means loyal, committed kindness, the reliable good faith owed within a binding relationship, rather than pity for someone in trouble. Translators reach for "steadfast love," "lovingkindness," or "faithful love" because no single English word carries both the affection and the obligation.