Psalms 96

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Reading Psalms · Listen to the poem

Start anywhere in Psalms. Bring these reading tools with you.

Identify the kind of speech

Ask whether this psalm praises, laments, gives thanks, teaches, or celebrates kingship. These forms can overlap. Notice who speaks and whom the poem addresses before assigning every line to the same voice.

Read across the lines

Compare neighboring lines: does the second echo, contrast with, or develop the first? Repeated words and changing images can reveal movement within a short poem. Superscriptions are part of the received text, but do not by themselves securely date composition.

Try it in Psalm 23

Track the movement from pasture and paths to a table, cup, and dwelling. What changes when the speaker moves from describing the shepherd to directly addressing him? Keep poetic imagery distinct from an itinerary.

Keep the collection in view

Read the preceding and following psalms as a separate comparison. Their placement can invite connections without proving that they were composed together. Numbering can differ between Hebrew and Greek traditions.

Explore the scholarship: Yale · historical and literary discussion ↗

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1 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.

8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.

12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

World Behind This Chapter

Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Psalms 96.

QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING

What stands out about a new song announcing divine kingship to nations in Psalm 96?

Psalm 96 builds its movement around a new song announcing divine kingship to nations, creation, and the coming judge. Tracking repeated words, parallel lines, changes of speaker, and image clusters shows how the poem develops before assigning a later interpretation.

What world does Psalm 96 ask the reader to picture?

The poem evokes temple/national worship before the nations. Those settings may be literal, remembered, ritual, or metaphorical; distinguishing those possibilities is part of reading Hebrew poetry carefully.

Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 1
Language & Literature1
  • Psalm 96: NET Bible Translation NotesNET Bible

    Translation notes clarify the call for a new song, proclamation among the nations, the contrast between the creator and the gods or idols of other peoples, temple offerings, holy splendor, the stability of the world, and creation rejoicing before the coming judge.

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