I ntroduction: Psalm 2 is one of the great psalms, quoted several times in the New Testament. David is called a prophet in Matt. 27:35, and the idea of a prophet is not necessarily one who foretells the future, but one who speaks on behalf of God to man. This David did, as he wrote about half of the psalms and certainly had some part in the writing of the book of Samuel, even if it was only based upon his personal chronicles.

We don’t know for certain that David wrote this psalm. He appears to be credited with this psalm in Acts 4:25, where the first verse is attributed to David. David is the author of most of the psalms. In fact, before I make any points, maybe we should quickly take a look at who wrote which psalms:

It is possible that the key to placing the psalms is their title. Bolded psalm indicates beginning of a new book.
Psalms Classified by Author
No title and therefore, no author is named.	1, 2, 10, 33, 43, 71, 91, 93–97, 99, 104, 105, 106, 107, 111–118, 119, 135, 136, 137, 146–150.
David	3–9, 11–32, 34–41, 51, 52–65, 68–70, 86, 101, 103, 108–110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138–145.
The Sons of Korah	42, 44–49, 84, 85, 87, 88.
Asaph	50, 73–83
Solomon	72, 127
Ethan the Ezrahite (see 88)	89
Moses	90
No author; a Song, a Psalm for the choir director	66, 67 (with stringed instruments).
No author	92 (a Psalm, a song for the Sabbath day), 98 (a psalm), 100 (a psalm of thanksgiving), 102 (a prayer of the afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before Jehovah).
No author; a song of ascents	120, 121, 123, 125, 126, 128–130, 132, 134.
As is quite evident, David wrote the bulk of the psalms, and therefore may be called the author of a psalm now and again that he did not write himself. However, just because the title is missing, does not mean that David did not write the psalm. If I was a betting man, I would bet that David wrote this. Therefore, I am going to proceed as if David is the author of Psalm 2.

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Altogether, the New Testament attributes five or six psalms to David, four of which bear his name in the Old Testament. The explanation which is traditionally given is, perhaps David did not write this psalm or that; however, he is credited with the psalm as the author of most of the psalms. Therefore, we need to examine this further. How exactly is David spoken of in the New Testament with respect to these psalms?
The Psalms Attributed to David in the New Testament
Psalm	NT Citation	OT Confirmation	Incident/Comments
Psalm 2	Acts 4:25–26	no	This is the most difficult of the passages to deal with and we are beginning with it. Peter and John are filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking, and the way they attribute this psalm to David is almost unmistakable. That is, it reads, by the mouth of Your servant David. This sounds more like real authorship than simply naming David as a general author of the psalms.
Psalm 16	Acts 2:25–28	yes	Here, we have For David says attached to a psalm which is attributed to David in the OT.
Psalm 32	Rom. 4:6–8	yes	Similar to above, this reads Just as David also says; and it makes reference to a psalm written by David.
Psalm 69	Acts 1:16, 20a Rom. 11:9–10	yes	The first citation in Acts 1:16, 20a is a misapplication by Peter. David’s words have no application to the choice of a replacement Apostle. However, this clearly and correctly calls David the author of this psalm. Paul correctly attributes Psalm 69 to David, using the phrase And David says. This is not the same passage quoted by Peter above.
Psalm 95	Heb. 4:7–11	no	In the Hebrew, this reads in [or, by means of] David. Therefore, we are not necessarily dealing with a psalm written by David, but a reference to David as the general author of the psalms, and not necessarily as the author of that psalm.
Psalm 109	Acts 1:16, 20b	yes	Again, Peter correctly names David as the author of a cited passage, and misapplies the passage. The Apostles had not received God the Holy Spirit, and therefore were kind of messed up for awhile.
Psalm 110	Matt. 22:43–45 Mark 12:35–37 Luke 20:41–44 Acts 2:34–35	yes	Psalm 110 is one of the great psalms of Scripture, properly attributed to David by our Lord. There are many parallels between Psalms 2 and 110, which will be explored as we exegete Psalm 2. When Peter quotes this psalm, his point is, David did not write Psalm 110 about himself. This psalm is about Jesus Christ.
David could be named as the general author of the psalms for Psalms 2, 95. For instance, I cite Douglas as the author of The New Bible Dictionary, even though he is the editor. However, that does not seem to be the idea behind its NT citation. First of all, these passages are different. In Psalm 95, David is named as one would name an editor or a major contributor of a work (in David). However, for Psalm 2, it is much stronger. David is not simply referred to, but what is quoted is from the mouth of David. Now, you may wonder if there is a point to all of this; you may think that I have belabored this point. God the Holy Spirit intentionally had David leave his name off of this psalm, even though he wrote it. The reason was to clearly point us in the direction of Jesus Christ, rather than to point us in the direction of David. The idea is, David sat down and perhaps was even thinking of himself as he began to compose this psalm. However, what is here in Psalm 2 transcends David and his (comparatively) puny reign. God the Holy Spirit kept David’s name off the psalm so that we would focus on Jesus Christ instead.

Placing this psalm into some particular portion of David’s life is very difficult to do. However, given all of the heathen nations which David had to war against, it seems so reasonable that David would begin writing this psalm thinking about all of the battles which he has fought against them. At least, this is how the psalm begins, but it quickly deals with heathenism in general.

We have several of David’s psalms that appear to be timeless. One could barely find a parallel here or there between David’s life and the things mentioned in this psalm. This psalm does seem to have a lot in common with Psalm 110; another difficult psalm to place. That this psalm speaks of God’s Appointed One to come and rule over the earth is evident. That David began to write this psalm about himself as the anointed one is a reasonable theory; however, he clearly departs from this by v. 7, when Jehovah speaks of bearing His Son, the King over all the earth.

Whether or not David actually wrote this psalm is not that important. However, I have given this topic a great deal of attention because some may misinterpret John and Peter’s quotation of it in Acts 4. The topic of God’s Son being made King over the earth is not a topic which can neatly be placed during this time or that time in David’s life. In fact, it is so removed from David’s life as to need no historical context. My thinking is, David did not include any mention of himself so that we would not think that he was speaking of himself in this psalm. That approach actually limits the way that we can interpret this psalm—that is, we cannot say that David is speaking of himself and how he is God’s anointed who will occupy the throne and rule over all of the world. If David was thinking of himself at all, he apparently put those thoughts aside as he wrote this psalm. This is clearly a psalm which can only barely be applied to David and his life; and is unquestionably messianic.

The inspiration of Scripture is certainly applicable to the titles and inscriptions of the psalms. Since we have intermingled the psalms with the book of Samuel, I think David’s spiritual growth became much more evident. Whereas, before, it appeared as though he was almost a different man from chapter to chapter, when the psalms are thrown in, the changes make more sense. However, here, the intention of God the Holy Spirit is to lift this psalm above the others, to remove it from David’s circumstances, and present it as clearly Messianic. When David is removed from consideration, then this psalm stands on its own.

As I exegete this psalm, I will make mention of David, assuming his authorship, and his place in the psalm; but this psalm is first and foremost about the Son of God.

This psalm breaks down very neatly into four stanzas of three verses each. In the first, we have the rulers of the world rebelling against God, and against the boundaries which He set. In the second stanza, a close parallel to the first, we see things from God’s perspective. Although the nations may rage against Him, God is in control. He has set His Son over them in Zion (v. 6). In the third stanza, God concentrates on His Son, giving us more information about Him. In the final stanza, the rulers of the earth are urged to worship the Son, or to face His wrath in the alternative.

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The Kings of the Earth Take a Stand Against God and His Anointed

Why rage nations

and Gentiles mutter vanity?

Psalm

2:1

Why do the Gentiles [or, nations] rage

and [why do] the people [or, heathen] celebrate emptiness?

Why do the nations rage and why do the Gentiles celebrate emptiness?

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Dead Sea Scrolls .

The Peshitta Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples imagine vain things?

The Septuagint Why did the heathen rage and the nations imagine vain things?

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Why do the nations plot, and why do their people make useless plans?

NJB Why this uproar among the nations,

this impotent muttering of the peoples?

NLT Why do the nations rage?

Why do the people waste their time with futile plans?

REB Why are the nations in turmoil?

Why do the peoples hatch their futile plots?

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Why do the nations gather together? Why do their people devise useless plots?

JPS (Tanakh) Why do nations assemble,

and peoples plot [or “recites”; lit. “utters”] vain things;...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible Why do the nations assemble with commotion [uproar and confusion of voices], and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) an empty scheme?

McGee Why do the heathen (Gentiles) rage and the people (Jews) imagine a vain thing?

MKJV Why do the nations rage, and the peoples meditate on a vain thing?

Owen's Translation Why do nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

Young's Updated LT Why have nations tumultuously assembled? And do peoples meditate vanity?

What is the gist of this verse? David asks why are the Gentile nations in an uproar and why do the Gentile and Jewish peoples act with such futility.

What follows is a question which does not require an answer, also known as erotesis. The writer will not pose a question and then answer it later in the psalm. It is a rhetorical question which expresses the indignation of God.

Psalm 2:1a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
mâh (הָמ) [pronounced maw]	what, how, why	interrogative; exclamatory particle	Strong’s #4100 BDB #552
râgash (ש-גָר) [pronounced raw-GASH]	to rage, to be in tumult, to be in commotion; to assemble, to gather [in commotion]	3^rd person plural, Qal perfect	Strong’s #7283 BDB #921
gôwyîm (ם̣י) [pronounced goh-YEEM]	Gentiles, [Gentile] nation, people, peoples, nations	masculine plural noun	Strong’s #1471 BDB #156

Translation: Why do the Gentiles [or, nations] rage... The word used here for nations is gôwyîm, or, more popularly, Goyim, which is generally applied to the Gentiles, or the nations of the earth; often their unbelief and even opposition to Jesus Christ is emphasized. However, this term can also be applied to Jewish unbelievers as well. The equivalent term in the New Testament Greek is ethnos (see Matt. 4:15 6:32 10:5 10:18 12:21). Man’s natural state is to be in opposition to God. However, there are times when that natural state gets worked up into a frenzy. We see that when Jesus came to this earth in His 1^st advent. The nation Israel and the Romans raged against Him.

The word for rage is found only here in the Hebrew, but it is found several times in the Aramaic in Daniel 6:7, 11, 15, where it means to assemble; to assemble in a commotion. The idea is, when there are large groups of people gathered, there is a great deal of commotion. This indicates a better fulfillment at our Lord’s 2^nd advent. When Jesus returns; the nations will be raging again. We will find several nations converging on the middle east at that time, all converging there to war and to destroy Israel.

Barnes tells us: The psalmist here sees the nations in violent agitation or commotion, as if under high excitement, engaged in accomplishing some purpose - rushing on to secure something, or to prevent something. The image of a mob, or of a tumultuous unregulated assemblage, would probably convey the idea of the psalmist. The word itself does not enable us to determine how extensive this agitation would be, but it is evidently implied that it would be a somewhat general movement; a movement in which more than one nation or people would participate. The matter in hand was something that affected the nations generally, and which would produce violent agitation among them..

I have mentioned that one reason for attributing this psalm to David is the similarity in vocabulary to another psalm which he wrote. However, we find similar passages in other psalmist’s works, e.g., The nations raged, the kingdoms were shaken; He uttered His voice, the earth melted (Psalm 46:6; Asaph wrote that psalm). Therefore, a similarity between vocabulary is not enough to determine authorship.

Psalm 2:1b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
l^eûmmîym (םי.ֻאל) [pronounced l^e-oom-MEEM]	peoples; vulgar or common peoples; heathen; Gentiles; Gentile peoples	masculine plural noun	Strong’s #3816 BDB #522
hâgâh (הָג ָה) [pronounced haw-GAW]	to murmur, to mutter, to growl; to utter, to speak; to sing, to celebrate, to meditate [to speak to yourself in a low voice], to muse	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #1897 BDB #211
rîyq (קי.ר) [pronounced reek]	emptiness, something vain, vanity	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #7385 BDB #938
The identically spelled adverb means in vain, fruitlessly.

Translation: ...and [why do] the peoples [or, heathen] celebrate emptiness? Even though these two words (Goyim and l^eûmmîym) are generally used of Gentiles as opposed to Jews, this refers to unbelieving Jews as well. In fact, J. Vernon McGee renders this Why do the heathen (Gentiles) rage and the people (Jews) imagine a vain thing? During the time of our Lord’s 1^st advent, they will celebrate their destruction of Jesus, which is an empty victory. During the 2^nd advent, it appears as though they will be celebrating as well. However, all of their plans and all of the things which they have done are futile. They can expect all of these things to come to naught before the Ruler of the Universe.

Barnes gives his explanation of these men celebrating vanity: That is, [they celebrate that] which will prove to be a vain thing, or a thing which they cannot accomplish. It cannot mean that they were engaged in forming plans which they supposed would be vain - for no persons would form such plans; but that they were engaged in designs which the result would show to be unsuccessful.

Perhaps, a study of national holidays would give us examples as to how nations celebrate empty, meaningless, vain things. Whereas, there are two holidays which celebrate Jesus Christ in much of the western world, there are many holidays found in all nations which celebrate that which is empty and meaningless, at least by comparison. Furthermore, even Easter and Christmas are both half pagan holidays anyway. Now, this is not the main thrust of this verse—it is not speaking of the empty holidays which national governments celebrate. However, this could be an offshoot application of this verse.

The greatest event of all history, that which has turned the world upside down, is the life, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our Lord’s time on this earth in His public ministry was actually quite short and very localized. From a human perspective, the idea that a man could, in three years, in such a localized region, cause such an uproar, is impossible—from a human perspective. Buddha roamed over northern India for 45 years teaching and gathering converts. Mohammed’s teaching may have lasted anywhere from 20–40 years. However, he entered into Mecca not just as a religious leader, but as a political leader as well (he was governor of Mecca). Then Islam spread because of military conquests over the 20 years which followed his death—military conquests which took in Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and the Persian Empire. However, our Lord’s purpose was not to teach people how to be better, but He had come to die for our sins. This did not require a lengthy ministry on earth. He had to reveal Who He was. This had to be clearly taught. He had to offer Himself to the Jews as their Savior and Messiah. He had to offers proofs that He was the long-awaited Messiah. All of this took 3, maybe 3½, years. Once this was clearly established, to where the historicity could not be doubted by any objective critic (liberal critics and unbelievers are much less objective than they would have you believe); our Lord went to the cross, the primary reason for Him taking up residence in a human body (perhaps I should say, the primary reason for His incarnation; He did not inhabit a body as a demon would).

It is suggested that there may be an historical precedent for David writing this psalm. When he was set as ruler over Israel, there was a negative response. 2Sam. 5:17: And the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel. And all the Philistines came up to seek David. And David heard, and went down to the stronghold (see also 1Chron. 14:8). However, as previously discussed, even if David were the author, his experiences which may have triggered this psalm originally are not really relevant. Only in the most general terms, can this psalm be applied to David.

This and the next verse are quoted in the book of Acts; we will deal with this at the end of the next verse.

Take a stand kings of earth

and princes are established together against Y^ehowah and against His Anointed.

Psalm

2:2

The kings of the earth take a stand

and rulers take counsel together against Y^ehowah and His Anointed One.

The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers of the earth take counsel together against Jehovah and His Anointed One.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Peshitta The kings of the earth and the rulers have conspired and have taken counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, saying,...

The Septuagint The kings of the earth stood up and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the Lord, and against His Christ,...

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV The kings of this earth have all joined together to turn against the LORD and his chosen one.

NLT The kings of the earth prepare for battle,

the rulers plot together against the Lord

and against his anointed one.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ Kings take their stands. Rulers make plans together against the LORD and against his Messiah by saying,...

JPS (Tanakh) ...kings of the earth take their stand,

and regents intrigue together

against the Lord and against His anointed?

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible The kings of the earth take their places the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed One — the Messiah, the Christ. They say...

Updated Emphasized Bible The kings of earth take their station,

And ║grave men║ have met by appointment together,—

Against Yahweh

And against his Anointed One [saying]:...

MKJV The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers plot together, against Jehovah and against His anointed, saying,...

Young's Updated LT Station themselves do kings of the earth, And princes have been united together, Against Jehovah, and against His Messiah:...

What is the gist of this verse? The rulers of this earth stand united in opposition to God the Father and His Anointed One, God the Son.

Psalm 2:2a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
yâtsab (בַצָי) [pronounced yaw-TSAHB^V]	to set oneself [in a place], to take a stand	3^rd person masculine plural, Hithpael imperfect	Strong’s #3320 BDB #426
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572
erets (ץ ∵ר ∵א) [pronounced EH-rets]	earth (all or a portion thereof), land	feminine singular noun	Strong's #776 BDB #75

Translation: The kings of the earth take a stand... Here, the kings of the earth rise up and they takes a stand. In the next portion of this verse, we find what it is that they rise up and take a stand against.

McGee pictures this as an organized protest; a large coalition of world leaders gathering together to take a stand against Jesus Christ. More precisely, against God and His Son Jesus Christ.

Psalm 2:2b