Psalm 72
The full text of Psalm 72 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
Of Solomon.
1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may the righteous flourish,
and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12 For he delivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live;
may gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field!
17 May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
May people be blessed in him,
all nations call him blessed!
18 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and Amen!
20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.
Translation notes (4)
- Psalm 72:8a The definite form hannahar (הַנָּהָר), 'the River', designates the Euphrates, the traditional northeastern boundary of the promised land (Genesis 15:18). The prayer thus extends the king's rule from that fixed frontier to the whole earth, language later echoed in Zechariah 9:10 concerning the coming messianic king.
- Psalm 72:10a Tarshish, often identified with Tartessos in southern Spain, marks the far west, while Sheba in southwest Arabia and Seba, associated with the region of Cush (Isaiah 43:3), mark the far south; together they picture tribute arriving from the ends of the known world. The visit of the queen of Sheba to Solomon (1 Kings 10) supplies the historical background, and later Christian tradition linked this verse to the Magi.
- Psalm 72:17a The Hebrew yitbarekhu vo (יִתְבָּרְכוּ בוֹ), literally 'may they bless themselves by him', echoes the promise to Abraham that all nations would find blessing through his offspring (Genesis 12:3; 22:18). The psalm thus presents the king as the channel through whom the Abrahamic blessing reaches the nations.
- Psalm 72:20a This verse is an editorial colophon closing Book Two of the Psalter, marking the end of an early collection of Davidic psalms; kallu (כָּלּוּ), 'are ended', signifies completion. Since psalms attributed to David appear again later (for example, Psalms 86 and 101), the notice concerns this collection rather than David's authorship as a whole.
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