Salmos 68

VBL · Chapter 68/150

1Para el director del coro. Un salmo de David. Un cántico. Levántate, Dios, y dispersa a tus enemigos. ¡Que todos los que odian a Dios, huyan de su presencia!

2Sóplalos y disípalos como si fueran solo humo; derrítelos como la cera en el fuego. Que los malvados mueran ante la presencia de Dios.

3Pero los justos están felices, y celebran en la presencia de Dios, llenos de alegría.

4¡Canten alabanzas a Dios! ¡Canten alabanzas a su maravilloso nombre! ¡Alaben al que cabalga entre las nubes. ¡Su nombre es El Señor ¡Alégrense en su presencia!

5Él es el padre de los huérfanos y protector de las viudas. Este es Dios, el que vive en su lugar santo.

6Dios provee una familia para los abandonados. Libera a los prisioneros y los hace celebrar con gozo. Pero los rebeldes terminan viviendo en un terreno baldío y solitario.

7Dios, cuando sacaste a tu pueblo, cuando marchaste por el desierto, Selah,

8la tierra tembló y los cielos se sacudieron ante tu presencia en el Sinaí. Ante Dios, el Dios de Israel.

9Tú enviaste abundante lluvia para regar la tierra prometida, refrescándola cuando estuvo seca.

10Tu pueblo se estableció allí y por tu bondad, oh Dios, cuidaste de los pobres. Selah.

11El Señor con su palabra ordena un gran ejército de mujeres que predican las buenas noticias.

12Los reyes de los ejércitos enemigos huyen, y las mujeres que se quedaron se repartieron el botín.

13¿Por qué se quedan ustedes en casa? Hay decoraciones en forma de palomas con alas de plata y plumas de oro que deben tomarse.

14El Todopoderoso dispersó a los reyes extranjeros como una tormenta de nieve sobre el Monte Salmón.

15“El Monte de Dios”, El Monte Basán, con sus muchas cumbres, Monte Basán,

16¿por qué miras con celo al Monte de Dios, donde el Señor vivirá para siempre?

17Los carruajes de Dios son incontables. Hay miles de miles de ellos. Él viene entre ellos hasta El Monte Sinai, hasta su Templo.

18Al subir tu trono en las alturas, te llevaste una procesión de cautivos. Recibiste regalos de los pueblos, incluso de los que se rebelaron contra la casa del Señor Dios.

19Sea el Señor bendito, porque cada día soporta nuestras cargas. Dios es nuestra salvación. Selah.

20Para nosotros, Dios es un Dios que salva. El Señor Dios nos provee un escape de la muerte.

21Pero Dios aplastará las cabezas de sus enemigos, esas cabezas con abundante cabello de quienes seguirán pecando.

22El Señor dice: “Yo los traeré de Basán. Los arrastraré desde las profundidades el mar,

23y ustedes, pueblo mío, caminarán en su sangre. Incluso los perros tendrán una porción de los enemigos de mi pueblo”.

24La gente puede ver tu procesión, oh Dios, la procesión de mi Dios y mi Rey que se dirige al Templo.

25Los cantantes van al frente, los músicos van detrás, y en el medio las jóvenes con panderetas.

26Alaben a Dios, todos los que han venido a adorar. Alaben al Señor todos los hijos del pueblo de Israel.

27Allí se ve la pequeña tribu de Benjamín, seguida de los muchos líderes de Judá; luego los líderes de Zabulón y Neftalí.

28Muestra tu poder, oh Dios. Revela tu fuerza, Señor, como lo has hecho con nosotros en el pasado.

29Los reyes te rinden tributo por tu Templo en Jerusalén.

30¡Condena a las bestias de los montes, a los bueyes y terneros! Sean humillados y traigan barras de plata como tributo a ti! ¡Dispersa, Señor, a las naciones sanguinarias!

31¡Que venga Egipto con regalos de bronce; que se apresure Etiopía en traer sus tributos a Dios!

32Canten a Dios, reinos de la tierra, canten alabanzas al Señor. Selah.

33¡Canten al que cabalga por los cielos, su fuerte voz suena como el trueno!

34Que todos conozcan el poder de Dios: su majestad se extiende por todo Israel, y su fuerza se revela en los cielos.

35¡Cuán asombroso es Dios en su Templo! ¡El Dios de Israel le da fuerza y poder a su pueblo! ¡Alaben a Dios!

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A long triumphant hymn that celebrates God as father of the fatherless and defender of widows, guiding his people through the wilderness, ascending the mountain with multitudes, and receiving tribute from kings, culminating in a call for all the kingdoms of the earth to sing praises.

Explanation

This is one of the most complex and image-rich psalms in the Psalter, probably composed for a procession celebrating God's journey with Israel — from the Exodus and the wilderness to the arrival in Jerusalem, perhaps linked to the ascent of the ark of the covenant to Mount Zion (2 Samuel 6). The description of God as 'a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows' (v.5) reveals one of the most consistent aspects of the divine character throughout the Bible: special care for the socially vulnerable. Paul cites verse 18 ('you have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive, you have received gifts for men') in Ephesians 4:8, applying it to the spiritual gifts given by Christ after his resurrection and ascension. Today's application: God reveals himself both in great historical acts of deliverance and in everyday care for those who are most helpless.

Fun facts

  • Verse 18 is quoted by Paul in Ephesians 4:8, applied to Christ's ascension and the distribution of spiritual gifts to the church — one of the most studied examples of how the New Testament reinterprets Old Testament texts.
  • This psalm contains more specific geographic names (Bashan, Sinai, Zalmon, Zebulun, Naphtali, Ethiopia, Egypt) than practically any other psalm, suggesting it describes an actual historical journey through the different regions traveled by Israel.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Salmos 68:1This opening cry repeats almost word for word what Moses said when the ark of the covenant went out ahead of the people in the wilderness (Numbers 10:35). The psalm opens by quoting this ancient marching formula for battle.
  2. Salmos 68:2Smoke scattered by the wind and wax melting near fire are two everyday images from the ancient world used to say that God’s enemies vanish with no effort, like something fragile before a greater force.
  3. Salmos 68:3Three verbs of joy in a row — be glad, rejoice, exceedingly rejoice — are a common device in Hebrew poetry for intensifying a feeling, here the happy contrast with the destruction of the enemies in the previous verse.
  4. Salmos 68:4“Jah” is a shortened form of God’s name (Yahweh) used in poetic and worship contexts, also present in the word “hallelujah” (praise Jah). It is not a different god, just a short form of the same name.
  5. Salmos 68:5Orphans and widows had no man in the family to defend their case in the courts of the time, leaving them without legal protection. Calling God their “father” and “judge” is saying He takes on the role they lacked.
  6. Salmos 68:6“A dry land” was the opposite of the fertile promised land, an image of exclusion from blessing. The psalm contrasts those God welcomes — the solitary, the prisoner — with those who choose to rebel and are left out of that provision.
  7. Salmos 68:7“Selah” appears again here: probably a musical marking or a pause in the reading, but its exact meaning has already been lost. This verse recalls the time when God led the people through the wilderness after Egypt.
  8. Salmos 68:8The scene of earthquake and rain describing God’s appearance at Sinai is almost identical to the one in the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:4-5) — a common poetic way of describing the divine presence as an event that shakes nature itself.
  9. Salmos 68:9After the exhausting crossing of the wilderness, the abundant rain is described as God refreshing His own “inheritance” — the people — like someone watering an exhausted crop until it recovers.
  10. Salmos 68:10“Flock” is a common way to refer to the people of Israel settled in the land, cared for by God as a shepherd cares for sheep; the verse recalls that this provision included especially the poorest.
  11. Salmos 68:11In the original Hebrew, the ones announcing the victory here are a great company of women — a detail lost in older translations. It was common for women to go out singing to celebrate the return of a victorious army.
  12. Salmos 68:12While the enemy kings flee in panic, the scene shifts indoors: the women who stayed behind divide the spoils brought back from war, a domestic detail showing the victory reaching even those who never went to the battlefield.
  13. Salmos 68:13It is an image of sudden wealth: after the victory over enemy kings, the people, compared to a dove, appear covered in the gleam of silver and gold taken as spoils of war.
  14. Salmos 68:14This is one of the most obscure verses in the psalm, and scholars still debate its exact meaning. The image seems to be a battlefield turning white — perhaps snow, perhaps bones — after God scatters the enemy kings.
  15. Salmos 68:15Bashan was a fertile region east of the Jordan, famous for its imposing mountain range (today associated with Mount Hermon). The psalm uses this well-known mountain as a comparison to introduce the contrast in the next verse.
  16. Salmos 68:16The high mountains of Bashan are described as if looking with envy at a much smaller hill — probably Zion — simply because that was the one God chose to dwell in forever, not them.
  17. Salmos 68:17“The chariots of God” numbering in the thousands describe a gigantic heavenly army escorting God, like the vision Elisha shows his servant in 2 Kings 6:17 — an image of military power no human army could match.
  18. Salmos 68:18It describes the ceremony of a victorious king ascending the throne after war, bringing captives and gifts received as tribute. Paul quotes this verse in Ephesians 4:8, applying the image to Christ’s ascension, but in the original psalm the picture is of an Israelite military victory.
  19. Salmos 68:19“Loadeth us with benefits” uses the image of a pack animal or a servant carrying loads: every day God is described as one who carries gifts for His people, not the other way around.
  20. Salmos 68:20“The issues from death” is a Hebrew expression for the ways of escape from a deadly situation. Saying they belong to God affirms that only He decides when and how someone escapes death.
  21. Salmos 68:21The “hairy scalp” probably refers to long hair worn by warriors as a sign of vigor and pride, something associated with heroes like Absalom. Striking it on the head is an image of the total humiliation of the defeated enemy.
  22. Salmos 68:22Bashan on the heights and the depths of the sea are two opposite extremes of hiding place. God promises to bring the enemies back no matter where they hide, echoing how the sea did not save the Egyptians when they pursued Israel.
  23. Salmos 68:23It is a shocking image, common in ancient warfare: feet bathed in the blood of slain enemies and dogs licking that blood off the ground, portraying a victory so complete that nothing is spared, not even this brutal scene.
  24. Salmos 68:24The psalm shifts scene: after the battle, the people now witness a royal procession entering the sanctuary — God’s “goings” stop being about war and become about visible worship in the temple.
  25. Salmos 68:25It describes in detail a royal worship procession: singers in front, musicians behind, and young women playing timbrels (a kind of tambourine) in the middle — the same kind of scene that took place when David brought the ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).
  26. Salmos 68:26“The fountain of Israel” is an expression for the people’s common origin, as if all the tribes had sprung from the same spring — a poetic way of calling the whole nation, from every lineage, to praise together.
  27. Salmos 68:27The list mixes small and large tribes, from south and north: Benjamin (the smallest, Saul’s tribe), Judah (the largest, David’s tribe), Zebulun and Naphtali (northern tribes) — representing the whole people united in the procession.
  28. Salmos 68:28It is a request for God to continue and confirm what He has already begun doing for the people — not a new work, but the continuation and strengthening of what was already underway.
  29. Salmos 68:29Foreign kings bringing gifts to the temple in Jerusalem is an image of recognition: even outside powers showed respect and tribute to the God of Israel, as would later happen with the queen of Sheba.
  30. Salmos 68:30It uses a symbol well known in ancient Egypt — the crocodile hidden among the reeds of the Nile — as a figure for Egypt itself or another enemy nation; the mention of bulls follows the same logic, comparing hostile nations to powerful animals that need to be tamed.
  31. Salmos 68:31Egypt and Cush (a region to the south, also called Ethiopia) were two great distant powers of the time. Describing their ambassadors coming to pay tribute is an image that even the mightiest empires bow before God.
  32. Salmos 68:32It closes the universal call to worship: not only Israel, but all the kingdoms of the earth are invited to sing praises. The “Selah” here marks a pause before the psalm’s solemn conclusion.
  33. Salmos 68:33“Rideth upon the heavens of heavens” describes God riding across the highest and oldest heaven that exists; the “mighty voice” He sends out is probably a poetic image of thunder as the voice of God.
  34. Salmos 68:34Ascribing strength to God is a way of publicly acknowledging His power, here located “in the clouds” — the sky was seen as the place where divine strength was most displayed, especially in storms.
  35. Salmos 68:35The plural “thy holy places” may refer to the temple and its several sacred courts. The psalm ends as it began, with solemn praise, closing the circle between the fearsome God of the opening and the God who gives strength at the end.

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