> [[psalm-28|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-30|Next →]] --- # Psalm 29 ## The Lord of Majesty Acclaimed as King of the World 1 A psalm of David. ^psalm-29-1 ### I Give to the LORD, you sons of God, give to the LORD glory and might; 2 Give to the LORD the glory due his name. ^psalm-29-2 Bow down before the LORD’s holy splendor! ### II 3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; ^psalm-29-3 the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over the mighty waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is power; ^psalm-29-4 the voice of the LORD is splendor. 5 The voice of the LORD cracks the cedars; ^psalm-29-5 the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon, 6 Makes Lebanon leap like a calf, ^psalm-29-6 and Sirion like a young bull. 7 The voice of the LORD strikes with fiery flame; ^psalm-29-7 8 the voice of the LORD shakes the desert; ^psalm-29-8 the LORD shakes the desert of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer dance ^psalm-29-9 and strips the forests bare. All in his Temple say, “Glory!” ### III 10 The LORD sits enthroned above the flood! ^psalm-29-10 The LORD reigns as king forever! 11 May the LORD give might to his people; ^psalm-29-11 may the LORD bless his people with peace! \* (Psalm 29) The hymn invites the members of the heavenly court to acknowledge God’s supremacy by ascribing glory and might to God alone (([[psalm-29|Ps 29]]:1] – [2a], [9b]). Divine glory and might are dramatically visible in the storm (([[psalm-29|Ps 29]]:3] – [9a]). The storm apparently comes from the Mediterranean onto the coast of Syria-Palestine and then moves inland. In ([[psalm-29|Ps 29]]:10] the divine beings acclaim God’s eternal kingship. The Psalm concludes with a prayer that God will impart the power just displayed to the Israelite king and through the king to Israel. \* (29:1) Sons of God: members of the heavenly court who served Israel’s God in a variety of capacities. \* (29:3) The voice of the LORD: the sevenfold repetition of the phrase imitates the sound of crashing thunder and may allude to God’s primordial slaying of Leviathan, the seven-headed sea monster of Canaanite mythology. \* (29:6) Sirion: the Phoenician name for Mount Hermon, cf. [Dt 3:9]. \* (29:9b] – [10) Having witnessed God’s supreme power (([[psalm-29|Ps 29]]:3] – [9a]), the gods acknowledge the glory that befits the king of the divine and human world. \* (29:10) The flood: God defeated the primordial waters and made them part of the universe, cf. [Ps 89:10] – [13]; [93:3] – [4]. \* (29:11) His people: God’s people, Israel. a. (29:2) [Ps 68:35]; [96:7] – [9]. b. (29:4) [Ps 46:7]; [77:18] – [19]; [Jb 37:4]; [Is 30:30]. c. (29:10) ([[baruch-03|Bar 3]]:3]. d. (29:11) [Ps 68:36]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[psalm-28|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-30|Next →]]