Passage

Psalms 68.11

Book: Psalms · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, Thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. 10. Thy congregation dwelt therein: Thou, O God, didst prepare of thy goodness for the poor."

"11. The Lord giveth the word: The women that publish the tidings are a great host."

"12. Kings of armies flee, they flee; And she that tarrieth at home divideth the spoil. 13. When ye lie among the sheepfolds, It is as the wings of a dove covered with silver, And her pinions with yellow gold." (Psalms 68:9-13, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"9. You, God, sent a plentiful rain. You confirmed your inheritance, when it was weary. 10. Your congregation lived therein. You, God, prepared your goodness for the poor."

"11. The Lord announced the word. The ones who proclaim it are a great company."

"12. “Kings of armies flee! They flee!” She who waits at home divides the plunder, 13. while you sleep among the camp fires, the wings of a dove sheathed with silver, her feathers with shining gold." (Psalms 68:9-13, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. ^{send: Heb. shake out} ^{confirm: Heb. confirm it} 10. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor."

"11. The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. ^{company: Heb. army}"

"12. Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. ^{did: Heb. did flee, did flee} 13. Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold." (Psalms 68:9-13, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"9. A shower of free-will gifts thou shakest out, O God. Thine inheritance, when it hath been weary, Thou hast established it. 10. Thy company have dwelt in it, Thou preparest in Thy goodness for the poor, O God."

"11. The Lord doth give the saying, The female proclaimers [are] a numerous host."

"12. Kings of hosts flee utterly away, And a female inhabitant of the house apportioneth spoil. 13. Though ye do lie between two boundaries, Wings of a dove covered with silver, And her pinions with yellow gold." (Psalms 68:9-13, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: David (per superscription); processional / triumphal psalm
Audience: Israel in liturgical procession celebrating YHWH's victory
Location: Jerusalem (likely Zion-procession context)
Time period: Davidic monarchy (c. 1010-970 BC)

Theological reading

Psalm 68:11 is one of the OT's most striking basar-deployments because the participle is feminine plural: ha-mevasserot tzava rav, "the women who publish the tidings are a great host." The Lord gives the word (the victorious decree); the announcement of the victory then spreads across a multitude of female heralds. The verse echoes the OT tradition of women leading the victory-song after God's deliverance (Miriam at the Sea, Ex 15:20-21; Deborah at Megiddo, Judg 5; the women greeting Saul and David, 1 Sam 18:6-7). The verse's significance for basar-theology is its democratizing reach: the herald-function is not confined to a single prophetic figure but spreads as a great host announcing what God has done. The NT echo is the great multitude of heralds-of-the-gospel envisioned in the apostolic missions tradition.

Key words

H1319 - basar, basar, ha-mevasserot, "the women bringing the tidings"

Quoted in

H1319 - basar

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.