Psalm 2 portrays nations and rulers conspiring “against the LORD and against his Anointed” Psalm 2:1–2. Their stated goal is to break what they view as restraints: “Let us burst their bonds apart” Psalm 2:3.
In Psalm 2:1–3 the speaker looks out at world politics and is baffled: whole nations are worked up and making plans that will amount to nothing. The poem then zooms in on leadership—kings and other rulers—who coordinate their strategy. Their target is Yahweh and the one Yahweh has installed or chosen to represent his rule. Psalm 2 opens with a sharp question that frames the rest of the psalm as an explanation of why this rebellion is misguided. The first three verses introduce the cast (nations, peoples, kings, rulers) and the conflict (organized resistance to Yahweh and his anointed).
Psalm 2:1–3 presents a public, organized rebellion. The text explicitly shows nations and peoples in loud agitation and planning something the speaker judges as vain (headed for nothing). It then narrows to kings and rulers who coordinate “together,” not as isolated bad actors but as a coalition.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Psalms 2:1-2, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
1Why do the nations rage, And the peoples plot a vain thing?
2The kings of the earth take a stand, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Yahweh, and against his anointed, saying,