Psalms 96:7

Psa 96:7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.

Ver. 7. Give unto the Lord] See Psa 29:1-2. One rendereth it, Tribuite ponderose, unde יהב onus pondus portate; to show that our praises of God should be ponderous and substantial.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 96:7-9. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people — O ye people, from whatsoever family ye come, or, O ye nations of the world, Give unto the Lord glory and strength — Ascribe to Jehovah that incomparable majesty, and supreme dominion and authority, which you have been wont to give to your imaginary gods. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name — Renouncing all your idols, acknowledge Jehovah alone to be the omnipotent king of all the world, and do him honour suitable to the excellence of his majesty. Bring an offering, and come into his courts — The courts of his house. Bring him an oblation, in token of your subjection to him; and humbly worship him in his temple. He speaks of the worship of the New Testament under the expressions of the Jewish worship, as the prophets elsewhere do: see Mal 1:11. O worship the Lord — O come and cast yourselves down before the Lord, in the beauty of holiness — In his sanctuary, where he hath fixed his glorious residence among us; or, rather, being clothed with all those holy ornaments, those gifts and graces, which are necessary and required in God’s worship. Fear before him, all the earth — Let all the people approach his presence with a holy fear and sacred reverence, standing in awe of, and dreading to offend, their sovereign Lord and King.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. (Psa 96:7) Give to Jehovah, ye families of nations, give to Jehovah glory and strength. Compare Psa 29:1. Here, as there, to give is to ascribe or recognise as belonging to him. The expression families of nations is Mosaic. See Gen 12:3. The parallel passage (1Ch 16:27) has, strength and joy (are) in his place.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

96:7 nations of the world (literally families of the nations): Families and clans represent subdivisions of the nations (see Gen 12:3). • The nations must respond to the Lord’s glory (Pss 8:1; 19:1-4; 24:7).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

As by experience ye see that it is only due unto him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 7. Ye kindreds of the people] Ye families, all the tribes of Israel in your respective divisions.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7 Give to Jehovah, etc. Since praise waited for God in Zion, (Psalm 65:1,) and that was the place devoted to the celebration of his worship, and the posterity of Abraham were alone invested with the privilege of priesthood, we cannot doubt that the Psalmist refers here to that great change which was to take place in the Church upon the advent of Christ. An opposition or distinction is intended between God’s ancient people and the Gentile tribes, which were to be afterwards adopted into the same fellowship. To declare his glory and strength, is the same with declaring the glory of his strength And to show that man can boast nothing of his own, and in refusing to celebrate God, impiously despoils him of his just honors, he subjoins, Give unto the Lord the glory of his name; an expression which denotes that God borrows nothing from without, but comprehends all that is worthy of praise in himself. He calls upon the Gentile nations in so many words to render unto God the same worship which the Jews did; not that we must worship God now according to the outward ritual which was prescribed under the Law, but he signifies that there would be one rule and form of religion in which all nations should accord. Now, unless the middle wall of partition had been broken down, the Gentiles could not have entered along with God’s children into the courts of the sanctuary. So that we have here a clear prediction of the calling of the Gentiles, who needed to have their uncleanness taken away before they could be brought into the holy assembly. The mincha, or oblation, was only one kind of sacrifice, but it is here taken to denote the whole worship of God, because it was a part of divine service more ordinarily practiced. We see from this, and other passages, that the inspired penmen describe the inward worship of God under symbols common in the age when they lived. God would not have meat-offerings presented to him after Christ had come; but the words which the Psalmist employs intimate that the doors of the temple, once shut, were now to be opened for the admission of the Gentiles. The Apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, (Hebrews 13:15) tells us what are those sacrifices with which God will now be worshipped. Hence the absurdity of the Papists, who would adduce such passages in support of the mass and their other fooleries. We may very properly learn from the words, however, that we ought not to come empty-handed into the presence of God, enjoined as we are to present ourselves and all that we have as a reasonable service unto Him, (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 2:5.)

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(7-9) These verses are a relic of Psa_29:1-2, where see Notes, but instead of being addressed to the angels it is, in accordance with the world of new ideas and feelings in which Israel lived after the Captivity, addressed to all the people of the world. A truly Messianic character is thus impressed on the psalm.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. O ye kindreds of the people] Ye families of the peoples. Cp. Psa_22:27; Amo_3:2.

7–9. An appeal to the nations to acknowledge Jehovah. These verses are a free imitation of Psa_29:1-2.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people,.... Or families (p): the Targum is,

"give unto the Lord a song, ye families of the people;''

by whom are meant not the tribes and families of the people of Israel, but the Gentiles, the nations of the world, who were to be blessed in the seed of Abraham, the family of Egypt, and others; see Amo 3:2, Zac 14:17, even such as were chosen of them, taken out from among them for a people to his name; who were redeemed out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation; and were taken, one of a city, and two of a family, and brought to Zion: give unto the Lord glory and strength; See Gill on Psa 29:1.

(p) "familiae", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Give unto the Lord - Ascribe unto the Lord - to Yahweh. This is extracted literally from 1Ch 16:28.

O ye kindreds of the people - Hebrew, “Families” of the people: people, as united by family ties. The idea is that of worship not merely as individuals, nor as a mere “aggregate” of individuals united by no common bonds, but as those united by strong ties; bound by blood and affection; constituted into communities. It is a call on such to worship God in their capacity as thus bound together; to come as families and to worship God. In other words, it is a call on families “as such” to acknowledge God. A family is a proper place where to honor God. When the same joy pervades all hearts in prosperity, and when all are alike made sorrowful in adversity, there is an evident fitness that all should unite in the same worship of God; and that, as in all other things they have common interests, sympathies, and affections, so they should have in religion - in the service of their Creator.

Give unto the Lord glory and strength - That is, Proclaim that these belong to God; or, worship him as a God of glory and power.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

O ye kindreds of the people; or, O ye families of the people of the world. And the word families may be understood either,

1. Strictly and properly; and so it may be intimated that this great blessing of salvation by Christ should not be imparted to whole nations, but only to some persons taken out of every people and nation, as it is expressed, Rev 5:9. Or,

2. More largely for nations, as it is taken, Gen 12:3; Jer 25:9; Zec 14:18; and so it may be implied that not only some few of the heathen people should be brought to the acknowledgment and worship of the true God, as was usual in the times of the Old Testament, but that whole nations should come in to the church of God together.

Give unto the Lord; ascribe to him, or acknowledge to be in him.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 7. The first six verses commenced with an exhortation to sing, three times repeated, with the name of the Lord thrice mentioned; here we meet with the expression

Give unto the Lord, used in the same triple manner. This is after the manner of those poets whose flaming sonnets have best won the ear of, the people, they reiterate choice words till they penetrate the soul and fire the heart. The invocation of the sweet singer is still addressed to all mankind, to whom he speaks as

Ye kindreds of the people. Divided into tribes and families, we are called in our courses and order to appear before him and ascribe to him all honour. "All worship be to God only, "is the motto of one of our City companies, and it may well be the motto of all the families upon earth. Family worship is peculiarly pleasing unto him who is the God of all the families of Israel.

Give unto the LORD glory and strength, that is to say, recognise the glory and power of Jehovah, and ascribe them unto him in your solemn hymns. Who is glorious but the Lord? Who is strong, save our God? Ye great nations who count yourselves both famous and mighty, cease your boastings! Ye monarchs, who are styled imperial and puissant, humble yourselves in the dust before the only Potentate. Glory and strength are nowhere to be found, save with the Lord, all others possess but the semblance thereof. Well did Massilion declare, "God alone is great."

Ver. 7 Ye kindreds of the people. There is a peculiar force, observes an early commentator Cassiodorus, in this phrase, "kindreds of the people, "much more than if we had the word "peoples" alone; for in every nation there are at all times strangers, aliens, sojourners abiding permanently or for a time, but not reckoned among the natives; while the phrase here includes all such, and provides that none shall be shut out because of his origin. Neale and Littledale.

Ver. 7. Ye kindreds of the people. He calls upon them to come in kindreds or families, in allusion to the Jewish custom of families coming by themselves, on the several festival days to worship in Jerusalem; and the Holy Ghost gives us here to understand that such custom was to serve as a model for Christians, whose families should unite in coming to the church to give glory and honour to God for all the wonderful things he accomplished in the redemption of man; for it was not by our own industry, or by our merits, that we have come to grace, and to be the adopted children of God, but through God's mercy, to whom, therefore, is due all honour and glory. Bellarmine.

Psalms 96:8*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Give… ye—The “give,” or ascribe, is uttered thrice, corresponding to “sing,” thrice repeated, (Psa_96:1-2,) expressive of the earnestness of the speaker. See Psa_29:1-2. The Chaldee has it, “Bring a new song to God.”

Kindreds of the people—Hebrew, Families of the nations. This accords with the breadth of the covenant. Compare “families of the earth,” (Gen_12:3; Gen_28:14,) which is the basis of the New Testament Church, as the family organization is also of the nation. The tendency of modern civilization and nationality is to restore the nations, according to the most ancient law, on the line of language and blood, see Gen_10:5; Gen_10:20; Gen_10:31-32, against the arbitrary combinations of ambition and conquest. Europe gives an example of this.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people; rather, O ye fatuities of the peoples. A renewed appeal to the heathen to join in the song of praise (comp. ver. 1). Give unto the Lord glory and strength. "Give" must be understood in the sense of "ascribe" (see Professor Cheyne"s translation, and compare the Prayer book Version). Both this and the next verse are echoes of Psa_29:1, Psa_29:2.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Call to the families of the peoples to worship God, the One, living, and glorious God. הבוּ is repeated three times here as Psa 29:1-11, of which the whole strophe is an echo. Isaiah (ch. 60) sees them coming in with the gifts which they are admonished to bring with them into the courts of Jahve (in Chr. only: לפניו). Instead of בּהדרת קדשׁ here and in the chronicler, the lxx brings the courts (חצרת) in once more; but the dependence of the strophe upon Psa 29:1-11 furnishes a guarantee for the "holy attire," similar to the wedding garment in the New Testament parable. Instead of מפּניו, Psa 96:9, the chronicler has מלּפניו, just as he also alternates with both forms, Ch2 32:7, cf. Ch1 19:18.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Ascribe to Yahweh ... ascribe praise to Yahweh for his glory and strength

This can be restated to removed the abstract nouns "praise," "glory," and "strength." See how these words are translated in Psalms 29:1. AT: "Praise Yahweh ... praise Yahweh because he is glorious and strong" (See: Abstract Nouns)

Give to Yahweh the glory that his name deserves

The abstract noun "glory" can be stated as a verb or adjective. See how these words are translated in Psalms 29:2. AT: "Honor Yahweh just as his name deserves" or "Proclaim that Yahweh is glorious just as his name deserves" (See: Abstract Nouns)

his name deserves

Here "name" refers to the person of God. AT: "he deserves" (See: Metonymy)

his courts

the temple courtyard where the priests sacrificed animals to Yahweh

translationWords

clan

people group

glory

name

sacrifice

court

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Ascribe to the Lord, families of peoples And what shall you ascribe to Him? Ascribe to the Lord glory and might.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.