Psalm 2
| Psalm 2 | |
|---|---|
| "Why do the heathen rage" | |
Beginning of Psalm 2 in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, representing David thanking God who appears in a halo. | |
| Other name |
|
| Text | by David |
| Language | Hebrew (original) |
| Psalm 2 | |
|---|---|
← Psalm 1 Psalm 3 → | |
| Book | Book of Psalms |
| Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
| Order in the Hebrew part | 1 |
| Category | Sifrei Emet |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 19 |
Psalm 2 is the second psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Why do the heathen rage". In Latin, it is known as "Quare fremuerunt gentes". The Book of Psalms is part of the Ketuvim (Writings)—the third section of the Hebrew Bible—and a book of the Christian Old Testament. Psalm 2 does not specify its author with a superscription, but in Acts 4:24–26 of the Christian New Testament, it is attributed to King David. Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman, referencing Rabbi Yochanan, is recorded in tractate Berakhot 10a:1 of the Talmud—the Rabbinic commentary on the Mishnah in Rabbinic Judaism—as teaching that Psalm 2 is a continuation of Psalm 1.
The psalm is a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies, as well as the general Protestant psalmody. It has often been set to music; George Frideric Handel, for example, set nine of its verses in Part II of his Messiah.