Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageOn the day You marshal Your forces, Your people come forward as willing offerings; arrayed in holy splendor, born from the very womb of the dawn, the dew of Your youth rises fresh to meet You.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GYour people offer themselves willingly on the day of your warfare; in sacred splendours, from the womb of the dawn, the dew of your youth belongs to You.
KJV
King James VersionThy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleYour people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
Footnotes
This is the most textually difficult verse in the Psalm, and every major translation diverges. *Nedavot* (from *nadav*, "to volunteer, to give freely") can mean either "freewill offerings" or "willing ones" — picturing the people as both consecrated offerings and volunteer warriors who freely enlist in the king's cause; the same root describes the freewill offerings of the tabernacle (Exod. 35–36), making the sacrificial register deliberate. *Chelecha* can be read as "your army/force" or "your strength/vigour." The extraordinary phrase *merechem mishchar* — "from the womb of the dawn" — likely evokes the origin of dew, which in ANE cosmology was understood to fall from the night sky; the king's youthful forces are as countless, fresh, and untouchable as morning dew. *Yaldutecha* ("your youth/youthfulness") deepens the image of inexhaustible, dawn-fresh vitality. FOG foregrounds the sacrificial register ("offer themselves willingly"); FOG Message emphasises the marshalling-of-forces dimension while preserving the womb-of-dawn imagery.