Net English TranslationPsalms 98 =
Psalm 981
98

1 A psalm.

Sing to the Lord a new song,2
for he performs3 amazing deeds!
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance.4
2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver;5
in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.
3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel.6
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.7
4 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!
Break out in a joyful shout and sing!
5 Sing to the Lord accompanied by a harp,
accompanied by a harp and the sound of music!
6 With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,
shout out praises before the king, the Lord!
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
9 before the Lord!
For he comes to judge the earth!
He judges the world fairly,8
and the nations in a just manner.
1sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel. 2sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1. 3tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results. 4tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable. 5tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.” 6tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.” 7tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers). 8tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).
=