Psalm 96-99
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 96[a]
God of the Universe
I
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;(A)
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his marvelous deeds.(B)
II
4 [b]For great is the Lord and highly to be praised,
to be feared above all gods.(C)
5 For the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(D)
6 Splendor and power go before him;
power and grandeur are in his holy place.
III
7 Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and might;
8 give to the Lord the glory due his name!(E)
Bring gifts and enter his courts;
9 bow down to the Lord, splendid in holiness.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
10 (F)declare among the nations: The Lord is king.
The world will surely stand fast, never to be shaken.
He rules the peoples with fairness.
IV
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;(G)
12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice
13 before the Lord who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,(H)
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with faithfulness.
Psalm 97[c]
The Divine Ruler of All
I
1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.(I)
2 Cloud and darkness surround him;
justice and right are the foundation of his throne.(J)
3 Fire goes before him,
consuming his foes on every side.
4 His lightening illumines the world;
the earth sees and trembles.(K)
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(L)
6 The heavens proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.(M)
II
7 All who serve idols are put to shame,
who glory in worthless things;
all gods[d] bow down before him.(N)
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Lord.(O)
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth,(P)
exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil,
he protects the souls of the faithful,(Q)
rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the just,
and gladness for the honest of heart.(R)
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you just,
and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.(S)
Psalm 98[e]
The Coming of God
1 A psalm.
I
Sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has done marvelous deeds.(T)
His right hand and holy arm
have won the victory.[f](U)
2 The Lord has made his victory known;
has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations,
3 He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
II
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
break into song; sing praise.
5 Sing praise to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout with joy to the King, the Lord.(V)
III
7 Let the sea and what fills it resound,(W)
the world and those who dwell there.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy,(X)
9 (Y)Before the Lord who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,(Z)
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
Psalm 99[g]
The Holy King
I
1 The Lord is king, the peoples tremble;
he is enthroned on the cherubim,[h] the earth quakes.(AA)
2 Great is the Lord in Zion,
exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name:
Holy is he!(AB)
II
4 O mighty king, lover of justice,
you have established fairness;
you have created just rule in Jacob.(AC)
5 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his footstool;[i](AD)
holy is he!
III
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord, and he answered them.(AE)
7 From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his decrees, the law he had given them.(AF)
8 O Lord, our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
though you punished their offenses.(AG)
9 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his holy mountain;
holy is the Lord, our God.
Footnotes
- Psalm 96 A hymn inviting all humanity to praise the glories of Israel’s God (Ps 96:1–3), who is the sole God (Ps 96:4–6). To the just ruler of all belongs worship (Ps 96:7–10); even inanimate creation is to offer praise (Ps 96:11–13). This Psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Is 40–55, as does Ps 98. Another version of the Psalm is 1 Chr 16:23–33.
- 96:4 For references to other gods, see comments on Ps 58 and 82.
- Psalm 97 The hymn begins with God appearing in a storm, a traditional picture of some ancient Near Eastern gods (Ps 97:1–6); cf. Ps 18:8–16; Mi 1:3–4; Hb 3:3–15. Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous (Ps 97:10–12).
- 97:7 All gods: divine beings thoroughly subordinate to Israel’s God. The Greek translates “angels,” an interpretation adopted by Hb 1:6.
- Psalm 98 A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9).
- 98:1 Marvelous deeds…victory: the conquest of all threats to the peaceful existence of Israel, depicted in the Psalms variously as a cosmic force such as sea, or nations bent on Israel’s destruction, or evildoers seemingly triumphant. His right hand and holy arm: God is pictured as a powerful warrior.
- Psalm 99 A hymn to God as the king whose grandeur is most clearly seen on Mount Zion (Ps 99:2) and in the laws given to Israel (Ps 99:4). Israel is special because of God’s word of justice, which was mediated by the revered speakers, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel (Ps 99:6–8). The poem is structured by the threefold statement that God is holy (Ps 99:3, 5, 9) and by the twice-repeated command to praise (Ps 99:5, 9).
- 99:1 Enthroned on the cherubim: cherubim were composite beings with animal and human features, common in ancient Near Eastern art. Two cherubim were placed on the ark (or box) of the covenant in the holy of holies. Upon them God was believed to dwell invisibly, cf. Ex 25:20–22; 1 Sm 4:4; 2 Sm 6:2; Ps 80:2.
- 99:5 Footstool: a reference to the ark, cf. 1 Chr 28:2; Ps 132:7.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.