Passage

Psalms 2.1-12

Book: Psalms · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying, 3. Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. 4. He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh: The Lord will have them in derision. 5. Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure: 6. Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion. 7. I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee. 8. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 10. Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11. Serve Jehovah with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, For his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in him." (Psalms 2:1-12, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? 2. The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying, 3. “Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.” 4. He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision. 5. Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath: 6. “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.” 7. I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father. 8. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. 9. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” 10. Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11. Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12. Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him." (Psalms 2:1-12, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? ^{rage: or, tumultuously assemble} ^{imagine: Heb. meditate} 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. ^{vex: or, trouble} 6. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. ^{set: Heb. anointed} ^{upon: Heb. upon Zion, the hill of my holiness} 7. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. ^{the decree: or, for a decree} 8. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 10. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 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." (Psalms 2:1-12, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Why have nations tumultuously assembled? And do peoples meditate vanity? 2. Station themselves do kings of the earth, And princes have been united together, Against Jehovah, and against His Messiah: 3. 'Let us draw off Their cords, And cast from us Their thick bands.' 4. He who is sitting in the heavens doth laugh, The Lord doth mock at them. 5. Then doth He speak unto them in His anger, And in His wrath He doth trouble them: 6. 'And I, I have anointed My King, Upon Zion, My holy hill.' 7. I declare concerning a statute: Jehovah said unto me, 'My Son Thou [art], I to-day have brought thee forth. 8. Ask of Me and I give nations, thy inheritance, And thy possession, the ends of earth. 9. Thou dost rule them with a sceptre of iron, As a vessel of a potter Thou dost crush them.' 10. And now, O kings, act wisely, Be instructed, O judges of earth, 11. Serve ye Jehovah with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12. Kiss the Chosen One, lest He be angry, And ye lose the way, When His anger burneth but a little, O the happiness of all trusting in Him!" (Psalms 2:1-12, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

_log-archive-2026-05

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.