Psalm 68

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.

¹ May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.

² As smoke is blown away by the wind,
may you blow them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.

³ But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.

⁴ Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds ^[a]—
his name is the LORD—
and rejoice before him.

⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.

⁶ God sets the lonely in families, ^[b]
he leads forth the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ When you went out before your people, O God,
when you marched through the wasteland,
Selah

⁸ the earth shook,
the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.

⁹ You gave abundant showers, O God;
you refreshed your weary inheritance.

¹⁰ Your people settled in it,
and from your bounty, O God, you provided for the poor.

¹¹ The Lord announced the word,
and great was the company of those who proclaimed it:

¹² “Kings and armies flee in haste;
in the camps men divide the plunder.

¹³ Even while you sleep among the campfires, ^[c]
the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
its feathers with shining gold.”

¹⁴ When the Almighty ^[d] scattered the kings in the land,
it was like snow fallen on Zalmon.

¹⁵ The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains;
rugged are the mountains of Bashan.

¹⁶ Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains,
at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
where the LORD himself will dwell forever?

¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands
and thousands of thousands;
the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.

¹⁸ When you ascended on high,
you led captives in your train;
you received gifts from men,
even from ^[e] the rebellious—
that you, ^[f] O LORD God, might dwell there.