Psalm 2:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

NIV: Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.'

NASB: 'Let’s tear their shackles apart And throw their ropes away from us!'

CSB: "Let's tear off their chains and throw their ropes off of us."

NLT: 'Let us break their chains,' they cry, 'and free ourselves from slavery to God.'

KJV: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

NKJV: “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”

Prior verses asked, rhetorically, why the world would rebel against an all-powerful God (Psalm 2:1–2). The purpose of their rage and plotting is an attempt to throw off the authority of God and His Anointed One. The ungodly cannot stand being controlled by the supreme Ruler of the universe and His Son (Acts 4:23–28).

Of course, the evil desire to usurp God and take His place is nothing new. Before the dawn of human history, Lucifer—the Devil—attempted to elevate himself to God's throne. But his futile exercise of self-will led to his expulsion from heaven (Isaiah 14:12–15). Adam and Eve rejected God's will concerning His command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:1–6). Their rebellion resulted in their expulsion from the garden of Eden, death for them and all their descendants, and a curse on nature (Genesis 3:16–19). In the era of the Judges, desire to reject God's will and replace it with self-will brought the Israelites into bondage to their enemies. Every man did what was right in his own eyes, even if it was wrong in God's eyes (Judges 17:6).

Ephesians 2:3 indicts the world of unbelievers for choosing to pursue self-will rather than God's will. Isaiah 53:6 says we have all gone astray like sheep and turned to our own way. Indeed, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick" (Jeremiah 17:9).

Psalm 2:1–6 portrays nations arrayed in military fashion against the Lord God and His anointed King. They have plotted to throw off the Lord's control. However, their scheme causes the Lord to laugh and to defeat their evil plan. He addresses them in His wrath and terrifies them in a display of His fury. After being released by the Sanhedrin, the Jews' ruling body in the first century, Peter and John returned to a gathering of believers and reported what had transpired. Together, the believers quoted Psalm 2:6 and applied it to the risen Son of God (Acts 4:23–30).

Psalm 2, written by King David (Acts 4:25), begins by questioning the nations' frenzied attempt to overthrow the Lord and His anointed King, Jesus. Godless cultures plot to rid themselves of divine authority. But trying to escape God's will is ridiculous. He will direct His wrath toward them and asserts He has established His King upon Mount Zion. God addresses His Son as His only begotten. This passage predicts the anointed King—the Messiah—will smash the rebellious nations to pieces with an iron rod. The psalmist urges the kings and rulers of the earth to submit to the Son's rule and come to friendly terms with Him. The psalm closes with the declaration that all who take refuge in the Lord's anointed King are blessed.

Psalm 2 is often labelled a royal psalm, because it refers to the King above all kings. This complements several other psalms: Psalms 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, and 144. Acts 13:33 relates Psalm 2:7 to Jesus. Revelation 2:27, spoken by the risen Savior, relates Psalm 2:9 to His victory over the rebellious nations and His reign on earth. Revelation 19:19–21 describes when and how Jesus will defeat the nations that assemble to go to war against God's anointed Son.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.