Psalm 2 - Conversations on loyalty and betrayal

Poet 1 Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain? 2 They stand together, the kings of the earth; The leaders conspire against the Lord and his Anointed, saying, Kings of the Earth 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart , Let us cast away their cords.” Poet 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; The Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then He will speak to them in his anger, and He will terrify them in his wrath, saying, God 6 “As for me, I have set my King, on Zion, my holy hill.” Messiah 7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord: The Lord said to me, God “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will bequeath you the nations, and put the ends of the earth in your possession. 9 With an iron rod you will break them and shatter them in pieces like a potter’s jar.” Poet 10 Now, O Kings, understand be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear and trembling 12 Kiss the Son lest he be angry and [you] perish, For suddenly his anger will blaze. Listener Blessed are they who trust in God.

This poem is a conversation between the poet, the Kings of the earth, God, the Messiah and you the listener.  Once you realise this the pronouns make sense.                  ~    ~ The poem starts with a couple of parallelisms - a repetition of ideas in the same order. the nations - rage the people  - plot they      - stand together    - the kings of the earth leaders - conspire against - the Lord + his anointed                  ~    ~ There are a few examples of alliteration - consonant repetition. People  Plot Break    Bonds Cast off Cords                  ~    ~ There is a Progression in God’s mood from amusement to wrath: sits              - laughs  Stage 1  - passive amusement holds them - derision  Stage 2 - amusement turns to disgust will speak   - anger  Stage 3 - anger and verbal action will terrify   - wrath   Stage 4 - ..Not a good place to be…                  ~    ~ God reveals that he has installed His King the Messiah and a conversation ensues between God and Jesus with a chiasmus repetition and a lot of confusing pronouns. I               -  tell    - the Lord - Jesus tells of God A1               B1         C1 the Lord -  said  - to Me       - God said to Jesus C2               B2           A2 God talking to Jesus You                   -     are My Son  A1                                 B1 have begotten  - You          B2               A2                  ~    ~ God sets forth his plan with repetitions. I shall bequeath             - the nations put in your possession - the ends of the earth iron rod          - break them shatter them - potters jar                  ~    ~ A final chiasmus warning from the poet, with a bit of alliteration. O Kings                     -       understand be wise; be warned    - O rulers of the earth.                  ~    ~ What you should do about - Serve God, Kiss the Son. Serve the Lord    -  fear and trembling Kiss the Son       -  lest angry and [you] perish, Kissing on the cheek has the same conetations as a handshake - we are comrades, on the same side.  Judas may have ‘kissed the Son’ but his motives were more in line with the first 2 verses.                  ~    ~ For suddenly his anger will blaze. The pronoun in ‘his anger’ could be God or the Messiah or the God-head but it reminds the listener not to wait or put it off, God’s patience can run out and his mood suddenly change from passive amusment with your antics to anger.                  ~    ~ And finally the listener understands what the first 2 Psalms are teaching him and responds: Blessed are they who trust in God