Salmos 66

ARC · Chapter 66/150

1Jubilae a Deus, todas as terras.

2Cantae a gloria do seu nome; dae gloria ao seu louvor.

3Dizei a Deus: Quão terrivel és tu nas tuas obras! pela grandeza do teu poder se submetterão a ti os teus inimigos.

4Toda a terra te adorará e te cantará louvores: elles cantarão o teu nome (Selah).

5Vinde, e vêde as obras de Deus: é terrivel nos seus feitos para com os filhos dos homens.

6Converteu o mar em terra secca; passaram o rio a pé; ali nos alegrámos n'elle.

7Elle domina eternamente pelo seu poder: os seus olhos estão sobre as nações; não se exaltem os rebeldes (Selah).

8Bemdizei, povos, ao nosso Deus, e fazei ouvir a voz do seu louvor:

9Ao que sustenta com vida a nossa alma, e não consente que sejam abalados os nossos pés.

10Pois tu, ó Deus, nos provaste; tu nos afinaste como se afina a prata.

11Tu nos metteste na rede; affligiste os nossos lombos.

12Fizeste com que os homens cavalgassem sobre as nossas cabeças; passámos pelo fogo e pela agua; mas nos trouxeste a um logar copioso.

13Entrarei em tua casa com holocaustos; pagar-te-hei os meus votos.

14Os quaes pronunciaram os meus labios, e fallou a minha bocca, quando estava na angustia.

15Offerecer-te-hei holocaustos gordurosos com incenso de carneiros; offerecerei novilhos com cabritos (Selah).

16Vinde, e ouvi, todos os que temeis a Deus, e eu contarei o que elle tem feito á minha alma.

17A elle clamei com a minha bocca, e elle foi exaltado pela minha lingua.

18Se eu attender á iniquidade no meu coração, o Senhor não me ouvirá;

19Mas, na verdade, Deus me ouviu; attendeu á voz da minha oração.

20Bemdito seja Deus, que não rejeitou a minha oração, nem desviou de mim a sua misericordia.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

An invitation to all the earth to praise God for his mighty works, recalling how he turned the sea into dry land at the Exodus, tested his people like refined silver, and heard the psalmist's personal prayer.

Explanation

This psalm blends communal praise (calling 'all the earth' to worship) with personal testimony in its final section, showing how collective faith and individual experience intertwine. The reference to the crossing of the Red Sea ('he turned the sea into dry land') recalls the founding event of Israel's identity as a people freed by God. The metaphor of being 'tried' as silver is tried explains hardships and trials as a purifying process, not merely a punitive one. Verse 18 ('if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me') is an important reminder: the effectiveness of prayer is tied to the sincerity and integrity of heart of the one praying.

Fun facts

  • The metaphor of being 'tried' as silver is tried (v.10) describes the actual process of metal refining in antiquity, in which silver was repeatedly heated to remove impurities — a slow, intentional process, not an instant one.
  • This psalm shifts from a plural section ('we') to a singular section ('I') starting at verse 13, a pattern scholars suggest represents the voice of a specific individual offering personal testimony within a larger communal celebration.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Salmos 66:1“All ye lands” shows that the call to praise is not addressed only to Israel but to every people on earth — a psalm intentionally universal in scope.
  2. Salmos 66:2Repeating the same idea in different words — singing the glory of His name, making His praise glorious — is the parallelism typical of Hebrew poetry, used to double the force of a single exhortation.
  3. Salmos 66:3“Shall submit themselves” may point to forced fear rather than sincere devotion — enemies bowing, or even flattering, before a power they cannot resist, without truly worshiping out of conviction.
  4. Salmos 66:4“Selah” appears dozens of times in the Psalms, and no one knows for certain what it means — probably a musical marking or a pause for reflection during the singing, not a word with a meaning of its own.
  5. Salmos 66:5“Come and see the works of God” is an invitation to witness up close the deeds the following verses will recount, beginning with the crossing of the sea in the Exodus.
  6. Salmos 66:6It joins two memories of crossing on dry ground: the Red Sea on the way out of Egypt and the Jordan River on the way into Canaan — two moments separated by decades, cited together as proof of the same power.
  7. Salmos 66:7“Let not the rebellious exalt themselves” is a warning to nations that resist God’s authority. The “Selah” that closes the verse is the same marking of uncertain meaning that appeared a few verses earlier.
  8. Salmos 66:8The call to “bless” God extends to “people” in general, not only to Israel — the psalm invites foreign nations to acknowledge what God did for this particular people.
  9. Salmos 66:9“Suffereth not our feet to be moved” is an image of keeping one’s footing while walking, used to describe God’s protection against stumbling and falling in everyday life.
  10. Salmos 66:10It uses the image of metalworking: silver was purified in fire until the impurities rose to the surface and could be skimmed off — a common Old Testament metaphor for suffering that refines character.
  11. Salmos 66:11It uses images of hunting (“net”) and a heavy burden on the back (“loins”) to describe a period of national oppression, probably captivity or foreign domination.
  12. Salmos 66:12“Caused men to ride over our heads” vividly describes the humiliation of being trampled by victorious enemies. “Fire and water” sums up extreme trials, but the verse ends in a place of abundance after the suffering.
  13. Salmos 66:13Entering the temple with “burnt offerings” — sacrifices entirely consumed on the altar — to “pay thee my vows” meant publicly fulfilling a promise made to God during some hard time, now past.
  14. Salmos 66:14It reminds us that the promise mentioned in the previous verse was not made only in thought but spoken aloud, “which my lips have uttered,” probably in the middle of distress — a spoken vow, hard to forget afterward.
  15. Salmos 66:15It describes a specific kind of temple sacrifice: fattened animals, considered the finest offering, burned whole on the altar, together with incense. Promising this was the highest form of thanksgiving available at the time.
  16. Salmos 66:16The psalm shifts tone here: after speaking of the whole nation, the author calls those who fear God to hear a specific personal testimony, no longer a generic collective praise.
  17. Salmos 66:17“I cried unto him with my mouth” and “he was extolled with my tongue” show the two ends of the experience of prayer: first the request spoken aloud, then the praise, also spoken, for the answer received.
  18. Salmos 66:18“If I regard iniquity in my heart” means holding on to and protecting a known sin, with no intention of giving it up — it is not about being perfect, but about deliberately hiding something wrong while praying.
  19. Salmos 66:19The contrast with the previous verse is direct: even while acknowledging that he could have hidden sin in his heart, the author states that, in his case, God truly heard and answered the prayer.
  20. Salmos 66:20The psalm closes with a blessing of gratitude: the fact that God did not reject the prayer nor withdraw His faithfulness (“mercy”) is treated as reason enough for praise.

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