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Psalm chapter 66

English Standard Version

1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth; 2sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! 3Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. 4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name." Selah 5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. 6He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him, 7who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations — let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah 8Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, 9who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. 10For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. 11You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; 12you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance. 13I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, 14that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. 15I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah 16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. 17I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. 18If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
New International Version

1For the director of music. A song. A psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth! 2Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. 3Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
4All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name." 5Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! 6He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him.
7He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him. 8Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; 9he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. 10For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. 11You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
12You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. 13I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you— 14vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. 16Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. 17I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. 18If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; 19but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. 20Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
New American Standard Bible

1Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; 2Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. 3Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will pretend to obey You. 4All the earth will worship You, And will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.' Selah 5Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of mankind. 6He turned the sea into dry land; They passed through the river on foot; Let’s rejoice there, in Him! 7He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; The rebellious shall not exalt themselves! Selah 8Bless our God, you peoples, And sound His praise abroad, 9Who keeps us in life, And does not allow our feet to slip. 10For You have put us to the test, God; You have refined us as silver is refined. 11You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon us. 12You made men ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water. Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance. 13I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings; I shall pay You my vows, 14Which my lips uttered And my mouth spoke when I was in distress. 15I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat animals, With the smoke of rams; I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats. Selah 16Come and hear, all who fear God, And I will tell of what He has done for my soul. 17I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was exalted with my tongue. 18If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; 19But God has heard; He has given attention to the sound of my prayer. 20Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His favor from me.
Christian Standard Bible

1For the choir director. A song. A psalm. Let the whole earth shout joyfully to God! 2Sing about the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. 3Say to God, "How awe-inspiring are your works! Your enemies will cringe before you because of your great strength.
4The whole earth will worship you and sing praise to you. They will sing praise to your name." Selah 5Come and see the wonders of God; his acts for humanity are awe-inspiring. 6He turned the sea into dry land, and they crossed the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him.
7He rules forever by his might; he keeps his eye on the nations. The rebellious should not exalt themselves. Selah 8Bless our God, you peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard.
9He keeps us alive and does not allow our feet to slip. 10For you, God, tested us; you refined us as silver is refined. 11You lured us into a trap; you placed burdens on our backs.
12You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us out to abundance. 13I will enter your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows 14that my lips promised and my mouth spoke during my distress.
15I will offer you fattened sheep as burnt offerings, with the fragrant smoke of rams; I will sacrifice bulls with goats. Selah 16Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. 17I cried out to him with my mouth, and praise was on my tongue. 18If I had been aware of malice in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19However, God has listened; he has paid attention to the sound of my prayer. 20Blessed be God! He has not turned away my prayer or turned his faithful love from me.
New Living Translation

1Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! 2Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is. 3Say to God, 'How awesome are your deeds! Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs.' Interlude
5Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people! 6He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and his people went across on foot. There we rejoiced in him.
7For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude
8Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises. 9Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling. 10You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. 11You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs. 12Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.
13Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you — 14yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble.
15That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you — the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude
16Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. 17For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. 18If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. 20Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
King James Version

1To the chief Musician, A Song or Psalm. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
2Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
3Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
4All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
5Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
6He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
7He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
8O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:
9Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.
10For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
11Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
12Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
13I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
14Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
15I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
16Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
17I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
19But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
New King James Version

1{To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.} Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! 2Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. 3Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land; They went through the river on foot. There we will rejoice in Him.
7He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard, 9Who keeps our soul among the living, And does not allow our feet to be moved. 10For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. 11 You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. 12 You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment. 13 I will go into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows, 14Which my lips have uttered And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, With the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. 17I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. 18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. 19 But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!

What does Psalm chapter 66 mean?

No author is assigned to this psalm. David might have written it, but it is likely this song was composed much later. Two possible events are thought of as most likely to have inspired this psalm. One is the defeat of the Assyrian forces who attacked Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—37). Another is when Israel began to return from exile after being conquered by Babylon (Ezra 1:2–3).

This psalm begins with a worldwide invitation to worship God. The psalmist points to the Lord's miraculous interventions as reason to give Him praise. A highlight of these miracles was the parting of the Red Sea. There, God rescued the nation of Israel from the pursuing Egyptians. The Lord pushed the waters aside so Israel could cross on dry land, then closed those waters over the Egyptian army (Exodus 14). Because God is watching the entire world, no one should presume they can defy Him. For all these reasons, the people of Israel should be especially eager to worship (Psalm 66:1–9).

Israel had suffered many hardships. Some of those were unprovoked attacks by enemies. In other cases, Israel brought those struggles on themselves by ignoring their God. Still, through all of that, God kept the nation intact and its people alive. An example of this is when Israel spent forty years wandering in the wilderness. That was due to their own sin (Numbers 14:27–33). Yet the Lord used this time to "refine" the nation and prepare them to take the Promised Land (Psalm 66:10–12).

The psalm ends by turning to address the people, likely those of Israel. The psalmist declares that he will make good on vows he has made to God. These appear to have been spoken during some severe danger or other trouble. The psalmist intends to fulfill those vows by offering sacrifices to the Lord. He then calls on those who claim belief in the God of Israel to hear about his experience. He honors the Lord for hearing his prayer and rescuing him (Psalm 66:13–20).
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