Psalms 93

The LORD is king. He is dressed in majesty. The LORD is dressed in strength, and he has put it on like a belt. The world is set firmly in place, and it cannot be shaken.

1The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

Note"The LORD is king" (or "the LORD reigns") was the shout used when a new king took the throne (the same words the messengers cry in 2 Samuel 15:10 and 2 Kings 9:13. The Hebrew can be heard either as announcing an event, "he has become king," or as stating a permanent fact, "he is king," and the psalm does not settle which. Where the King James prints LORD in capitals it stands for the personal name of Israel's God, which the Hebrew text spells out but which readers of it did not pronounce aloud. To "gird" oneself was to gather the loose folds of a long robe and tie them at the waist with a belt or sash) what a person did before fighting, running, or hard work. Here strength is both the robe and the belt: the picture is of someone dressed for action rather than at rest.

2Your throne was set up long ago. You yourself have always existed, with no beginning.

2Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

Note"From everlasting" translates a Hebrew phrase meaning "from the remote past", time stretching back beyond any reckoning. The verse sets two things side by side: the throne, which was set up at some point however distant, and the king himself, who was not.

3The floodwaters have risen, LORD. The floodwaters have raised their voice. The floodwaters lift up their pounding waves.

3The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.

NoteThe word rendered "floodwaters" is the ordinary Hebrew word for rivers or streams in flood. In the poetry of Israel and its neighbors, roaring water (river torrents, storm surge, the open sea) was the standard image for the forces that a king or a god has to master. "Lifted up their voice" is the same phrase used elsewhere of a person raising their voice to shout or weep. The line is repeated three times with a small change each time, a normal Hebrew way of building intensity, so that the water gets louder as the verse goes on.

4The LORD on high is stronger than the roar of many waters, stronger even than the mighty breakers of the sea.

4The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

NoteThe Hebrew of this verse is compressed and can be read two ways. It may be a comparison (the LORD on high is mightier than the roar of the waters, as the King James takes it) or a statement standing on its own: above the roar of the waters, the LORD on high is majestic. Translations divide, and the wording supports both.

5The rules you have declared are completely trustworthy. Holiness is what suits your house, LORD, and it will forever.

5Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.

Note"Testimonies" translates a Hebrew word for formal declarations laid down by a ruler and treated as binding witnesses against anyone who breaks them, the terms of an agreement, put on record. "Sure" here means confirmed and reliable, not merely likely. "Holiness becometh thine house" uses "becometh" in its older sense of befits or suits, the way we still say a color becomes someone; the idea is that holiness is the fitting adornment of the place, as robes befit a king. "Thine house" means the temple in Jerusalem, God's residence in the language of the psalms. The closing phrase is literally "for length of days," meaning for all the time to come.