Psalms 2 (YLT)

Chapter Text

2:1 Why have nations tumultuously assembled? And do peoples meditate vanity?

2:2 Station themselves do kings of the earth, And princes have been united together, Against Jehovah, and against His Messiah:

2:3 `Let us draw off Their cords, And cast from us Their thick bands.'

2:4 He who is sitting in the heavens doth laugh, The Lord doth mock at them.

2:5 Then doth He speak unto them in His anger, And in His wrath He doth trouble them:

2:6 `And I--I have anointed My King, Upon Zion--My holy hill.'

2:7 I declare concerning a statute: Jehovah said unto me, `My Son Thou <FI>art<Fi> , I to-day have brought thee forth.

2:8 Ask of Me and I give nations--thy inheritance, And thy possession--the ends of earth.

2:9 Thou dost rule them with a sceptre of iron, As a vessel of a potter Thou dost crush them.'

2:10 And now, O kings, act wisely, Be instructed, O judges of earth,

2:11 Serve ye Jehovah with fear, And rejoice with trembling.

2:12 Kiss the Chosen One, lest He be angry, And ye lose the way, When His anger burneth but a little, O the happiness of all trusting in Him!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nations", "tumultuously", "assembled", "peoples", "meditate", "vanity", "station", and "themselves". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nations" and "tumultuously", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local YLT text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "nations" and "tumultuously" carries the first interpretive weight. In The LORD as Shepherd, the local focus is trust, covenant mercy, guidance, and worship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "nations" and "tumultuously" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.