Psalm 2
Psalm 2 is the second psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Why do the heathen rage". In Latin, it is known as "Quare fremuerunt gentes". The Book of Psalms is part of the Ketuvim —the third section of the Hebrew Bible—and a book of the Christian Old Testament. Psalm 2 does not specify its author with a superscription, but in Acts 4:24–26 of the Christian New Testament, it is attributed to King David. Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman, referencing Rabbi Yochanan, is recorded in tractate Berakhot 10a:1 of the Talmud—the Rabbinic commentary on the Mishnah in Rabbinic Judaism—as teaching that Psalm 2 is a continuation of Psalm 1.
The psalm is a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies, as well as the general Protestant psalmody. It has often been set to music; George Frideric Handel, for example, set nine of its verses in Part II of his Messiah.
Background and themes
Judaism
According to the Talmud, in tractate Berakhot 9b:28 and 10a:1, Psalm 2 is a continuation of Psalm 1. Tenth-century CE rabbi Saadia Gaon, in his commentary on the Psalms, concurs with the Talmud that Psalm 1 begins with the word "happy" and the last verse of Psalm 2 ends with the word "happy", joining them thematically.Furthermore, Chazal, in tractate Sukkah 52a:6 and tractate Avodah Zarah 3b:5, and later commentators, including Saadia Gaon, Abraham ibn Ezra, and the Karaite Yefet ben Ali, argue that Psalm 1 is messianic in theme, referring to the advent of the Jewish Messiah preceded by the wars of Gog and Magog. In this vein, the "king" of Psalm 2 is interpreted not as David but as the future King Messiah from the Davidic line, who will restore Israel to its former glory and bring world peace. Similarly, the Midrash Tehillim teaches:
Rashi and Rabbi David Kimhi, however, identify the subject of this psalm as David, following his victory over the Philistines. Mariano Gomez Aranda, in a 2018 article in the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, suggests that Rashi's view was influenced by that of early Christian commentators, who interpreted verse 7 as referring to Jesus.
Christianity
Some Christian writers, such as Hermann Gunkel, and Hans-Joachim Kraus interpret the psalm as a "song of the Judean king himself at the festival of his accession," while Hossfeld sees the psalm as merely being influenced by Ancient Egyptian and Hellenistic royal ideology. Furthermore, Christian scholars tend to interpret the subject of the psalm as Jesus and his role as the Messiah. Matthew Henry interprets verses 1–6 are viewed as threats against Jesus's kingdom, verses 7–9 as a promise to Jesus to be the head of this kingdom, and verses 10–12 as counsel to all to serve Jesus. Charles Spurgeon and Adam Clarke similarly interpret the psalm as referring to the opposition against Jesus's rulership, the selection of Jesus by God as his "own son", and the eventual victory and reign of Jesus over his enemies.Text
The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint, the Latin text in the Vulgate and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions.| # | Hebrew | English | Greek | Latin |
| 1 | Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? | ΙΝΑΤΙ ἐφρύαξαν ἔθνη, καὶ λαοὶ ἐμελέτησαν κενά; | Quare fremuerunt gentes, et populi meditati sunt inania? | |
| 2 | The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, | παρέστησαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κατὰ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ.. | Astiterunt reges terrae, et principes convenerunt in unum adversus Dominum et adversus christum eius: | |
| 3 | Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. | Διαῤῥήξωμεν τοὺς δεσμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ ἀποῤῥίψωμεν ἀφ᾿ ἡμῶν τὸν ζυγὸν αὐτῶν. | “Dirumpamus vincula eorum et proiciamus a nobis iugum ipsorum!”. | |
| 4 | He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. | ὁ κατοικῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἐκγελάσεται αὐτούς, καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐκμυκτηριεῖ αὐτούς. | Qui habitat in caelis, irridebit eos, Dominus subsannabit eos. | |
| 5 | Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. | τότε λαλήσει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτοῦ ταράξει αὐτούς. | Tunc loquetur ad eos in ira sua et in furore suo conturbabit eos: | |
| 6 | Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. | ᾿Εγὼ δὲ κατεστάθην βασιλεὺς ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Σιὼν ὄρος τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ | “Ego autem constitui regem meum super Sion, montem sanctum meum!”. | |
| 7 | I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. | διαγγέλλων τὸ πρόσταγμα Κυρίου. Κύριος εἶπε πρός με· υἱός μου εἶ σύ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε. | Praedicabo decretum eius. Dominus dixit ad me: “Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te. | |
| 8 | Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. | αἴτησαι παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ, καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσίν σου τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς. | Postula a me, et dabo tibi gentes hereditatem tuam et possessionem tuam terminos terrae. | |
| 9 | Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. | ποιμανεῖς αὐτοὺς ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ, ὡς σκεύη κεραμέως συντρίψεις αὐτούς. | Reges eos in virga ferrea et tamquam vas figuli confringes eos”. | |
| 10 | Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. | καὶ νῦν, βασιλεῖς, σύνετε, παιδεύθητε, πάντες οἱ κρίνοντες τὴν γῆν. | Et nunc, reges, intellegite; erudimini, qui iudicatis terram. | |
| 11 | Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. | δουλεύσατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν φόβῳ καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ. | Servite Domino in timore et exsultate ei cum tremore. | |
| 12 | Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. | δράξασθε παιδείας, μήποτε ὀργισθῇ Κύριος καὶ ἀπολεῖσθε ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαίας. ὅταν ἐκκαυθῇ ἐν τάχει ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ, μακάριοι πάντες οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ. | Apprehendite disciplinam, ne quando irascatur, et pereatis de via, cum exarserit in brevi ira eius. Beati omnes, qui confidunt in eo. |
Uses
Judaism
Verse 1 is recited during Selichot.This psalm is also recited to alleviate a headache, and when caught in a sea gale.
New Testament
Some verses of Psalm 2 are referenced in the New Testament:- Verses 1-2: in a speech attributed to Peter and John in Acts.
- Verse 7: in Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5.
- Verses 8-9: in Revelation ; 12:5; 19:15.
Catholic Church
In the Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 2 is sung or recited in the Office of Readings of the Sunday of the first week, with Psalm 1 and Psalm 3. Every Tuesday, the faithful of Opus Dei, after invoking their Guardian Angel and kissing the rosary, recite Psalm 2 in Latin.
Coptic Orthodox Church
In the Agpeya, the Coptic Church's book of hours, this psalm is prayed in the office of Prime.Book of Common Prayer
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 2 is appointed to be read on the morning of the first day of the month, as well as at Mattins on Easter Day.The Scottish Psalter
The Presbyterian Scottish Psalter of 1650 rewords the psalm in a metrical form that can be sung to a tune set to the common meter.Musical settings
In 1567, Thomas Tallis set Psalm 2, "Why fum'th in sight", for his Nine Tunes for Archbishop Parker's Psalter. Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase in German, "Was haben doch die Leut im Sinn", SWV 098, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.Psalm 2 is one of the psalms used in Handel's "Messiah". He set the King James Version of verses 1–4 and to 9 in four in movement in Part II, beginning with movement 40.
In France, Pierre Robert composed a grand motet "Quare fremuerunt gentes", for the Chapelle Royale in the Louvre. Marc-Antoine Charpentier set around 1675 one " Quare fremuerunt gentes" H.168 - H.168 a, for soloists, double chorus, strings and continuo, another one, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and continuo H.184, around 1682. Michel-Richard de Lalande in 1706 made his grand motet on this Psalm. Jean-Baptiste Lully did the same.
Felix Mendelssohn wrote a setting of Psalm 2 in German during his time as Generalmusicdirektor for church music in Berlin. The setting is for two four part choirs with sections for solo voices and was first performed in Berlin Cathedral on the first day of Christmas 1843. "Warum toben die Heiden" was published as his Op 78 No 1.
Verses 1–4 form one of the texts Leonard Bernstein used for his Chichester Psalms. It is used as counterpart to Psalm 23 in the second movement, sung by the tenors and basses.
Verse 8 of Psalm 2 is used in the song "You Said" by Reuben Morgan.
As part of his five-volume "Revenant Psalms" project, seminary professor Timothy Slemmons paraphrased Psalm 2 in its entirety, and arranged it for a guitar-based setting, entitled "Lagniappe," with alternating 13/4 and 5/4 time signatures.