To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
[68:1] God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!
[68:2] As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!
[68:3] But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!
[68:4] Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him!
[68:5] Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
[68:6] God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
[68:7] O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness,
[68:8] the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
[68:9] Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished;
[68:10] your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
[68:11] The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host:
[68:12] “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil—
[68:13] though you men lie among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold.
[68:14] When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon.
[68:15] O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
[68:16] Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
[68:17] The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
[68:18] You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
[68:19] Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.
[68:20] Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
[68:21] But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
[68:22] The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
[68:23] that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
[68:24] Your procession is seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
[68:25] the singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines:
[68:26] “Bless God in the great congregation, the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
[68:27] There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
[68:28] Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
[68:29] Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you.
[68:30] Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war.
[68:31] Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
[68:32] O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord,
[68:33] to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
[68:34] Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.
[68:35] Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!