I. (2:1–3) The Gentile Kings in Revolt. Several kings of Gentile peoples who are vassals of the Davidic king propose a revolt to throw off Israelite rule.

These kings are rebelling “against the Lord and against his Anointed” (v. 2). Samuel anointed both Saul (1 Sam. 10:1) and David (1 Sam. 16:13), setting them apart as kings whose task it was to rule Israel and embody covenant faithfulness. For the Gentiles to rebel against the heir of David is to rebel against the Lord who installed him; it is also to cut themselves off from their only hope of knowing the one true God. There is thus a poignancy to their situation, especially if a particular Davidic king was less than godly in his life and rule (and thus was not a good vehicle of God’s blessing).

In Acts 4:25–26 the early Christians portray the persecution they face as the same kind of foolish rebellion.

II. (2:4–6) Heaven’s Perspective on the Revolt. The scene shifts from “the kings of the earth” (Ps. 2:2) to the one “who sits in the heavens.” Far from being disturbed by the tumult of these Gentile kings, he “laughs” and even “holds them in derision.” God has already set his mind on where the world’s story is headed (as made clear in v. 8), and thus his decision to use the Davidic dynasty (“my King on Zion”) is firm; this rebellion cannot deter its coming to pass. Since the Lord is not dismayed, neither need his people be.85

III. (2:7–9) The Davidic King Speaks. The Davidic king, mentioned in verse 2 (“his Anointed”) and verse 6 (“my King”), now speaks for himself. Here he recalls what God had declared at his coronation.86 The “decree,” or coronation oracle, did two things: First, it established the king as God’s “Son.” Second, it reiterated the purpose of the Davidic kingship, and indeed of Israel as a whole (“the nations”; v. 8).

In 2 Samuel 7:14 God says he will take the heir of David as a “son.” God uses this term because, in Exodus 4:22–23, he had called the people of Israel as a whole his “son” (cf. Ps. 80:15; Hos. 11:1; cf. also Ps. 89:27 for the term “firstborn” applied to the Davidic king); thus the king is called by a title of the whole people, for his job is to represent and embody the people and to lead them in the task of carrying out their calling as God’s people.

The NT presents Jesus as God’s Son in two ways: as the divine Son (who, as Christians would soon realize, with the Father and the Holy Spirit constitutes the Trinity) and as the Davidic Son, the heir of David; in each case we must discern which aspect is more in view. When NT authors allude to this psalm, they are referring to the Davidic Son. In Acts 13:33 (a speech of Paul) and Romans 1:4 Paul portrays the resurrection of Jesus as his coronation, his entry into his Davidic rule as “Son.” Hebrews 1:5 brings Psalm 2:7 together with 2 Samuel 7:14; this shows that the argument of Hebrews assumes that Jesus is the messianic heir of David (the Son of God), into whom God has also folded the priestly office.

The “nations,” or Gentiles, raging in revolt (Ps. 2:2) are actually destined to be the “heritage” of the Davidic king. Beginning in Genesis, the OT maintains an expectation that eventually, by way of Abraham’s family, all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 22:18) and that this will come about by God’s making the Gentile peoples the subjects of the messianic king (Gen. 49:10; cf. Ps. 72:8–11, 17). Christians, who call Jesus the “Christ” or Messiah, confess that this new era, in which Gentiles are flooding into God’s family, has begun (e.g., Matt. 28:18–20; Rom. 1:5).

Psalm 2:9 in the Hebrew shows that the rule of the king will be severe toward those who will not submit: he will “break them [teroʻem] with a rod of iron.” The LXX (used in Rev. 2:27; 12:5; 19:15) seems to give a different picture; it treats the same Hebrew consonants as if they had different vowels (tirʻem), which yields “you will shepherd” or “rule,” which sounds gentler. However, the rod and the sternness are best understood as “breaking” those who rebel and who persist in oppressing the weak, whom the ideal king will surely “shepherd” or defend (as in Isa. 11:4), so the picture expressed by the two readings is not really different.

IV. (2:10–12) Advice to the Gentile Kings. These kings and rulers (Ps. 2:10, looking back to v. 2) must understand that the ruler whom they reject is not just another human ruler but is God’s own appointed king for the sake of the whole world. Therefore they serve their best interest by submitting to David’s heir.

Verses 11b–12a have presented some difficulties for interpreters. For some, it makes no sense to “rejoice with trembling” (v. 11), nor to “kiss the Son” (v. 12). Further, the form of “Son” here (bar) is Aramaic in form rather than the standard Hebrew (ben). Hence some suggest another rendering in place of “son” (e.g., “purely,” as in JPS: “do homage in purity”; for the related adjective cf. Pss. 19:8; 24:4; 73:1) or even propose a substantial reconstruction of the text (“with trembling kiss his feet”; NRSV).87 But none of this is necessary; the Aramaic-sounding term is well suited to a fancied Gentile audience (the kings in revolt), with whom an Aramaic-like dialect could easily be taken as a common international language (2 Kings 18:26). Further, there is a son mentioned, the heir of David (Ps. 2:7). And finally, the kiss denotes religious homage, which the Davidic king deserves (v. 2).88

It is possible that the “he” who might “be angry” and the “him” in whom they are to “take refuge” in verse 12 refer to the Lord (from v. 11); it is more natural, however, to find a reference to the Son, who acts in God’s name. The Davidic king is therefore the one whose anger the rebels should fear and the one in whom the faithful take refuge.