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LXX Psalms

Septuagint

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Psalm 96

1 For David, when his land is brought into order. The Lord reigns, let the earth exult, let many islands rejoice. 2 Cloud, and darkness are all around him; righteousness and judgment are the establishment of his throne. 3 Fire shall go before him, and burn up his enemies all around. 4 His lightnings appeared to the world; the earth saw, and trembled. 5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The heavens have declared his righteousness, and all the peoples have seen his glory. 7 Let all that worship carved images be ashamed, who boast of their idols; worship him, all you his angels.⁠ 8 Zion heard and rejoiced; and the daughters of Judea exulted, because of your judgments, Lord. 9 For you are Lord most high over all the earth; you are greatly exalted above all gods. 10 You that love the Lord, hate evil; the Lord preserves the souls of his saints; he shall deliver them from the hand of sinners. 11 Light has sprung up for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous; and give thanks for a remembrance of his holiness.

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The Greek Septuagint Turns Gods Into Angels in the Psalms

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Psalm 97 declares that all the gods bow down before the Most High, describing the hierarchy of the divine council. The Greek Septuagint translation preserves this early Israelite tradition but changes the “gods” to “angels.”

Passages

Psalm 97:7

Hebrew Bible
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The sky declares his justice, and all the nations see his splendor. 7 All who worship idols are ashamed, those who boast about worthless idols. All the gods bow down before him. 8 Zion hears and rejoices, the towns of Judah are happy, because of your judgments, O Lord. 9 For you, O Lord, are the Most High over the whole earth; you are elevated high above all gods.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

LXX Psalm 96:7

Septuagint
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The heavens have declared his righteousness, and all the peoples have seen his glory. 7 Let all that worship carved images be ashamed, who boast of their idols; worship him, all you his angels. 8 Zion heard and rejoiced; and the daughters of Judea exulted, because of your judgments, Lord. 9 For you are Lord most high over all the earth; you are greatly exalted above all gods.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Psalms

References

"... Despite the general assumption of traditional reading, the biblical usage of these words for god, gods/deities, and God is considerably broader and more complex than most people today recognize when they think of what a god is. When readers look at the question of divinity in the Bible, they are often concerned with the issues surrounding the nature and status of the true God versus other or false gods. However, the various biblical terms for god(s) may refer to a number of additional phenomena. Contrary to the popular view of the Bible, ancient Israel included all sorts of “gods,” and not all of these were divided sharply into either God or negative, foreign gods, as suggested by the following sample. For the sake of convenience, I provide a representative range of usage for god, gods and God, including positive, collective usages for divinities other than the so-called one god of Israel. Collective usages of gods include the case of Exodus 15:11, where the speaker asks in a positive manner: “Who is like you among the gods, O Yahweh?” These gods, literally “divine sons,” are also said to belong to the heavenly court (Psalms 29:1, 89:7; compare Job 1:6, 2:1). They work for the chief god/divine king and bow down to this chief god (’elohim, Psalm 97:7; compare Psalm 96:4). They shouted for joy at the time of creation (and parallel to “morning stars,” in Job 38:7). Thus the word “god” extends to both a major god such as Yahweh and minor divinities including his divine courtiers ..."
Mark S. Smith, God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World, FAT 57 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 12–13.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 97:7 and LXX Psalm 96:7

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