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Historical

Read the books of the Bible as they were written historically, according to the estimated date of their writing.

Duration: 365 days

Psalm 66-69

Psalm 66^[a]

Praise of God, Israel’s Deliverer

¹For the leader. A song; a psalm.

I

²Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
    sing of his glorious name;
    give him glorious praise.^(A)
³Say to God: “How awesome your deeds!
    Before your great strength your enemies cringe.
⁴All the earth falls in worship before you;^(B)
    they sing of you, sing of your name!”
Selah

II

⁵^[b]Come and see the works of God,
    awesome in deeds before the children of Adam.
⁶He changed the sea to dry land;
    through the river they passed on foot.^(C)
There we rejoiced in him,
⁷    who rules by his might forever,
His eyes are fixed upon the nations.
    Let no rebel rise to challenge!
Selah
⁸Bless our God, you peoples;
    loudly sound his praise,
⁹Who has kept us alive
    and not allowed our feet to slip.^(D)
¹⁰You tested us, O God,
    tried us as silver tried by fire.^(E)
¹¹You led us into a snare;
    you bound us at the waist as captives.
¹²^[c]You let captors set foot on our neck;
    we went through fire and water;
    then you led us out to freedom.^(F)

III

¹³I will bring burnt offerings^[d] to your house;
    to you I will fulfill my vows,
¹⁴Which my lips pronounced
    and my mouth spoke in my distress.
¹⁵Burnt offerings of fatlings I will offer you
    and sacrificial smoke of rams;
    I will sacrifice oxen and goats.
Selah
¹⁶Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    while I recount what has been done for me.
¹⁷I called to him with my mouth;
    praise was upon my tongue.
¹⁸Had I cherished evil in my heart,
    the Lord would not have heard.
¹⁹But God did hear
    and listened to my voice in prayer.
²⁰Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer
    and refuse his mercy.

Psalm 67^[e]

Harvest Thanks and Petition

¹For the leader; with stringed instruments. A psalm; a song.

I

²May God be gracious to us^[f] and bless us;
    may his face shine upon us.^(G)
Selah
³So shall your way be known upon the earth,
    your victory among all the nations.^(H)
⁴May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you!

II

⁵May the nations be glad and rejoice;
    for you judge the peoples with fairness,
    you guide the nations upon the earth.^(I)
Selah
⁶May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you!

III

⁷The earth has yielded its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.^(J)
⁸May God bless us still;
that the ends of the earth may revere him.

Psalm 68^[g]

The Exodus and Conquest, Pledge of Future Help

¹For the leader. A psalm of David; a song.

I

²^[h]May God arise;
    may his enemies be scattered;
    may those who hate him flee before him.^(K)
³As the smoke is dispersed, disperse them;
    as wax is melted by fire,
    so may the wicked perish before God.^(L)
⁴Then the just will be glad;
    they will rejoice before God;
    they will celebrate with great joy.

II

⁵Sing to God, praise his name;
    exalt the rider of the clouds.^[i]
Rejoice before him
    whose name is the Lord.^(M)
⁶Father of the fatherless, defender of widows^(N)—
    God in his holy abode,
⁷God gives a home to the forsaken,
    who leads prisoners out to prosperity,
    while rebels live in the desert.^[j]

III

⁸God, when you went forth before your people,^(O)
    when you marched through the desert,
Selah
⁹The earth quaked, the heavens poured,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
¹⁰You poured abundant rains, God,
    your inheritance was weak and you repaired it.
¹¹Your creatures dwelt in it;
    you will establish it in your goodness for the poor, O God.

IV

¹²The Lord announced:
    “Those bringing news are a great Army.
¹³    The kings of the armies are in desperate flight.^(P)
Every household will share the spoil,
¹⁴    though you lie down among the sheepfolds,^(Q)
    you shall be covered with silver as the wings of a dove,
    her feathers bright as fine gold.”
¹⁵When the Almighty routs the kings there,
    it will be as when snow fell on Zalmon.^[k]

V

¹⁶You mountain of God, mountain of Bashan,
    you rugged mountain, mountain of Bashan,
¹⁷You rugged mountains, why look with envy
    at the mountain^[l] where God has chosen to dwell,
    where the Lord resides forever?^(R)
¹⁸God’s chariots were myriad, thousands upon thousands;
    from Sinai the Lord entered the holy place.
¹⁹You went up to its lofty height;
    you took captives, received slaves as tribute,^(S)
    even rebels, for the Lord God to dwell.

VI

²⁰Blessed be the Lord day by day,
    God, our salvation, who carries us.^(T)
Selah
²¹Our God is a God who saves;
    escape from death is the Lord God’s.
²²God will crush the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy scalp of the one who walks in sin.^(U)
²³The Lord has said:
    “Even from Bashan I will fetch them,
    fetch them even from the depths of the sea.^[m]
²⁴You will wash your feet in your enemy’s blood;
    the tongues of your dogs will lap it up.”^(V)

VII

²⁵^[n]Your procession comes into view, O God,
    your procession into the holy place, my God and king.
²⁶The singers go first, the harpists follow;
    in their midst girls sound the timbrels.^(W)
²⁷In your choirs, bless God;
    Lord, Israel’s fountain.
²⁸In the lead is Benjamin, few in number;
    there the princes of Judah, a large throng,
    the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali, too.^(X)

VIII

²⁹Summon again, O God, your power,
    the divine power you once showed for us,
³⁰From your temple on behalf of Jerusalem,
    that kings may bring you tribute.
³¹Roar at the wild beast of the reeds,^[o]
    the herd of mighty bulls, the calves of the peoples;
    trampling those who lust after silver
    scatter the peoples that delight in war.
³²Let bronze be brought from Egypt,^(Y)
    Ethiopia hurry its hands to God.^(Z)

IX

³³You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;^(AA)
    chant the praises of the Lord,
Selah
³⁴Who rides the heights of the ancient heavens,
    Who sends forth his voice as a mighty voice?
³⁵Confess the power of God,
    whose majesty protects Israel,
    whose power is in the sky.
³⁶Awesome is God in his holy place,
    the God of Israel,
    who gives power and strength to his people.^(AB)
Blessed be God!

Psalm 69^[p]

A Cry of Anguish in Great Distress

¹For the leader; according to “Lilies.”^[q] Of David.

I

²Save me, God,
    for the waters^[r] have reached my neck.^(AC)
³I have sunk into the mire of the deep,
    where there is no foothold.
I have gone down to the watery depths;
    the flood overwhelms me.^(AD)
⁴I am weary with crying out;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
    from looking for my God.^(AE)
⁵More numerous than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause.^(AF)
Those who would destroy me are mighty,
    my enemies without reason.
Must I now restore
    what I did not steal?^[s]

II

⁶God, you know my folly;
    my faults are not hidden from you.
⁷Let those who wait in hope for you, Lord of hosts,
    not be shamed because of me.
Let those who seek you, God of Israel,^(AG)
    not be disgraced because of me.
⁸For it is on your account I bear insult,
    that disgrace covers my face.^(AH)
⁹I have become an outcast to my kindred,
    a stranger to my mother’s children.^(AI)
¹⁰Because zeal for your house has consumed me,^[t]
    I am scorned by those who scorn you.^(AJ)
¹¹When I humbled my spirit with fasting,^(AK)
    this led only to scorn.
¹²When I clothed myself in sackcloth;
    I became a byword for them.
¹³Those who sit in the gate gossip about me;
    drunkards make me the butt of songs.

III

¹⁴But I will pray to you, Lord,
    at a favorable time.
God, in your abundant kindness, answer me
    with your sure deliverance.^(AL)
¹⁵Rescue me from the mire,^(AM)
    and do not let me sink.
Rescue me from those who hate me
    and from the watery depths.
¹⁶Do not let the flood waters overwhelm me,
    nor the deep swallow me,
    nor the pit close its mouth over me.
¹⁷Answer me, Lord, in your generous love;
    in your great mercy turn to me.
¹⁸Do not hide your face from your servant;
    hasten to answer me, for I am in distress.^(AN)
¹⁹Come and redeem my life;
    because of my enemies ransom me.
²⁰You know my reproach, my shame, my disgrace;
    before you stand all my foes.
²¹Insult has broken my heart, and I despair;
    I looked for compassion, but there was none,^(AO)
    for comforters, but found none.
²²Instead they gave me poison for my food;
    and for my thirst they gave me vinegar.^(AP)

IV

²³May their own table be a snare for them,
    and their communion offerings a trap.^(AQ)
²⁴Make their eyes so dim they cannot see;
    keep their backs ever feeble.
²⁵Pour out your wrath upon them;
    let the fury of your anger overtake them.
²⁶Make their camp desolate,
    with none to dwell in their tents.^(AR)
²⁷For they pursued the one you struck,
    added to the pain of the one you wounded.
²⁸Heap punishment upon their punishment;
    let them gain from you no vindication.
²⁹May they be blotted from the book of life;
    not registered among the just!^(AS)

V

³⁰But here I am miserable and in pain;
    let your saving help protect me, God,
³¹^[u]That I may praise God’s name in song
    and glorify it with thanksgiving.
³²That will please the Lord more than oxen,
    more than bulls with horns and hooves:^(AT)
³³“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
    you who seek God, take heart!^(AU)
³⁴For the Lord hears the poor,
    and does not spurn those in bondage.
³⁵Let the heaven and the earth praise him,
    the seas and whatever moves in them!”

VI

³⁶For God will rescue Zion,
and rebuild the cities of Judah.^(AV)
They will dwell there and possess it;
³⁷the descendants of God’s servants will inherit it;
those who love God’s name will dwell in it.^(AW)

Footnotes

Psalm 66 In the first part (Ps 66:1–12), the community praises God for powerful acts for Israel, both in the past (the exodus from Egypt and the entry into the land [Ps 66:6]) and in the present (deliverance from a recent but unspecified calamity [Ps 66:8–12]). In the second part (Ps 66:13–20), an individual from the rescued community fulfills a vow to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. As often in thanksgivings, the rescued person steps forward to teach the community what God has done (Ps 66:16–20).
66:5–6 cf. the events described in Ex 14:1–15, 21; Jos 3:11–4:24 and Ps 114.
66:12 You let captors set foot on our neck: lit., “you let men mount our heads.” Conquerors placed their feet on the neck of their enemies as a sign of complete defeat, cf. Jos 10:24. A ceremonial footstool of the Egyptian king Tutankhamen portrays bound and prostrate bodies of enemies ready for the king’s feet on their heads, and one of Tutankhamen’s ceremonial chariots depicts the king as a sphinx standing with paw atop the neck of an enemy.
66:13 Burnt offerings: cf. Lv 1:3–13; 6:1–4; 22:17–20.
Psalm 67 A petition for a bountiful harvest (Ps 67:7), made in the awareness that Israel’s prosperity will persuade the nations to worship its God.
67:2 May God be gracious to us: the people’s petition echoes the blessing pronounced upon them by the priests, cf. Nm 6:22–27.
Psalm 68 The Psalm is extremely difficult because the Hebrew text is badly preserved and the ceremony that it describes is uncertain. The translation assumes the Psalm accompanied the early autumn Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth), which included a procession of the tribes (Ps 68:25–28). Israel was being oppressed by a foreign power, perhaps Egypt (Ps 68:31–32)—unless Egypt stands for any oppressor. The Psalm may have been composed from segments of ancient poems, which would explain why the transitions are implied rather than explicitly stated. At any rate, Ps 68:2 is based on Nm 10:35–36, and Ps 68:8–9 are derived from Jgs 5:4–5. The argument develops in nine stanzas (each of three to five poetic lines): 1. confidence that God will destroy Israel’s enemies (Ps 68:2–4); 2. call to praise God as savior (Ps 68:5–7); 3. God’s initial rescue of Israel from Egypt (Ps 68:8), the Sinai encounter (Ps 68:9), and the settlement in Canaan (Ps 68:10–11); 4. the defeat of the Canaanite kings (Ps 68:12–15); 5. the taking of Jerusalem, where Israel’s God will rule the world (Ps 68:16–19); 6. praise for God’s past help and for the future interventions that will be modeled on the ancient exodus-conquest (Ps 68:20–24); 7. procession at the Feast of Tabernacles (Ps 68:25–28); 8. prayer that the defeated enemies bring tribute to the Temple (Ps 68:29–32); 9. invitation for all kingdoms to praise Israel’s God (Ps 68:33–35).
68:2 The opening line alluding to Nm 10:35 makes clear that God’s assistance in the period of the exodus and conquest is the model and assurance of all future divine help.
68:5 Exalt the rider of the clouds: God’s intervention is in the imagery of Canaanite myth in which the storm-god mounted the storm clouds to ride to battle. Such theophanies occur throughout the Psalm: Ps 68:2–3, 8–10, 12–15, 18–19, 22–24, 29–32, 34–35. See Dt 33:26; Ps 18:8–16; Is 19:1.
68:7 While rebels live in the desert: rebels must live in the arid desert, whereas God’s people will live in the well-watered land (Ps 68:8–11).
68:15 Zalmon: generally taken as the name of a mountain where snow is visible in winter, perhaps to be located in the Golan Heights or in the mountains of Bashan or Hauran east of the Sea of Galilee.
68:17 The mountain: Mount Zion, the site of the Temple.
68:23 Even from Bashan…from the depths of the sea: the heights and the depths, the farthest places where enemies might flee.
68:25–28 Your procession: the procession renews God’s original taking up of residence on Zion, described in Ps 68:16–19.
68:31 The wild beast of the reeds: probably the Nile crocodile, a symbol for Egypt; see Ps 68:32 and Ez 29:2–5.
Psalm 69 A lament complaining of suffering in language both metaphorical (Ps 69:2–3, 15–16, the waters of chaos) and literal (Ps 69:4, 5, 9, 11–13, exhaustion, alienation from family and community, false accusation). In the second part the psalmist prays with special emphasis that the enemies be punished for all to see (Ps 69:23–29). Despite the pain, the psalmist does not lose hope that all be set right, and promises public praise (Ps 69:30–36). The Psalm, which depicts the suffering of the innocent just person vividly, is cited often by the New Testament especially in the passion accounts, e.g., Ps 69:5 in Jn 15:25; Ps 69:22 in Mk 15:23, 36 and parallels and in Jn 19:29. The Psalm prays not so much for personal vengeance as for public vindication of God’s justice. There was, at this time, no belief in an afterlife where such vindication could take place. Redress had to take place now, in the sight of all.
69:1 “Lilies”: apparently the name of the melody.
69:2 Waters: the waters of chaos from which God created the world are a common metaphor for extreme distress, cf. Ps 18:5; 42:8; 88:8; Jon 2:3–6.
69:5 What I did not steal: the psalmist, falsely accused of theft, is being forced to make restitution.
69:10 Zeal for your house has consumed me: the psalmist’s commitment to God’s cause brings only opposition, cf. Jn 2:17. I am scorned by those who scorn you: Rom 15:3 uses the verse as an example of Jesus’ unselfishness.
69:31 That I may praise God’s name in song: the actual song is cited in Ps 69:33–35, the word “praise” in Ps 69:35 referring back to “praise” in Ps 69:31.

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

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.