Psalms 72:10

10 Kings remote and legendary will pay homage, kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth.

Psalms 72:10 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 72:10

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents,
&c.] Tarshish either signifies the sea, as it is sometimes rendered in the Targum; and then the sense is, the kings of the sea, that is, of the islands of the sea, as it follows, shall be subject to the kingdom of Christ; and, as a token of it, bring presents to him, as the Moabites and Syrians did to David, and as several nations and kings did to Solomon, ( 2 Samuel 8:2 ) ( 1 Kings 4:21 ) ; or it designs a large country inhabited by the Celtae F2, and so is distinct from the islands; and then the sense is, that kings, both of the continent, and of the islands of the sea, shall do homage to the Messiah;

and the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts;
the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "the kings of the Arabians and Saba"; and so Apollinarius, the Arabians, and Sabeans, these being places in Arabia Felix and Petraea F3: this will be fulfilled when the kings of the earth shall bring their honour and glory into the New Jerusalem, ( Revelation 21:24 ) . This, and the preceding verse, are interpreted of the Messiah by the ancient Jews F4; who say F5, that all the gifts that Jacob their father gave to Esau, the nations of the world shall return them to the King Messiah in time to come, according to the sense of these words; where it is not written "they shall bring"; but (whyvy) F6, "they shall return [presents]".


FOOTNOTES:

F2 Hiller. Onomast. p. 944.
F3 Hiller. ibid. p. 165, 920.
F4 Zohar in Gen. fol. 71. 1.
F5 Bereshit Rabba, s. 78. fol. 69. 1. Bemidbar Rabba, s. 13. fol. 210.
F6 "Redire facient, vel reddant", Muis.

Psalms 72:10 In-Context

8 Rule from sea to sea, from the River to the Rim.
9 Foes will fall on their knees before God, his enemies lick the dust.
10 Kings remote and legendary will pay homage, kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth.
11 All kings will fall down and worship, and godless nations sign up to serve him,
12 Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need, the destitute who have run out of luck.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.