Psalm 89

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 89:1 sn Psalm 89. The psalmist praises God as the sovereign creator of the world. He recalls God’s covenant with David, but then laments that the promises of the covenant remain unrealized. The covenant promised the Davidic king military victories, but the king has now been subjected to humiliating defeat.
2. Psalm 89:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 88.
3. Psalm 89:1 tn Or “forever.”
4. Psalm 89:1 tn Heb “to a generation and a generation I will make known your faithfulness with my mouth.”
5. Psalm 89:2 tn Heb “built.”
6. Psalm 89:2 sn You set up your faithfulness. This may allude to the Lord’s heavenly throne, which symbolizes his just rule and from which the Lord decrees his unconditional promises (see vv. 8, 14).
7. Psalm 89:3 tn The words “the Lord said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. It is clear that the words of vv. 3-4 are spoken by the Lord, in contrast to vv. 1-2, which are spoken by the psalmist.
8. Psalm 89:4 tn Heb “forever I will establish your offspring.”
9. Psalm 89:4 tn Heb “and I will build to a generation and a generation your throne.”
10. Psalm 89:5 tn As the following context makes clear, the personified “heavens” here stand by metonymy for the angelic beings that surround God’s heavenly throne.
11. Psalm 89:5 tn Heb “in the assembly of the holy ones.” The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3), but here it refers to God’s heavenly assembly and the angels that surround his throne (see vv. 6-7).
12. Psalm 89:6 tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (ʾelim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (v^ene ʾelim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the Lord’s heavenly throne.
13. Psalm 89:7 tn Heb “feared.”
14. Psalm 89:7 tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”
15. Psalm 89:7 tn Or perhaps “feared by.”
16. Psalm 89:8 tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the Lord as enthroned in the midst of the angelic hosts of heaven.
17. Psalm 89:9 tn Heb “the majesty of the sea.”
18. Psalm 89:9 tn Heb “rise up.”
19. Psalm 89:10 tn Heb “Rahab.” The name “Rahab” means “proud one.” Since it is sometimes used of Egypt (see Ps 87:4; Isa 30:7), the passage may allude to the exodus. However, the name is also used of the sea (or the mythological sea creature) which symbolizes the disruptive forces of the world that seek to replace order with chaos (see Job 9:13; 26:12). Isa 51:9 appears to combine the mythological and historical referents. The association of Rahab with the sea in Ps 89 (see v. 9) suggests that the name carries symbolic force in this context. In this case the passage may allude to creation (see vv. 11-12), when God overcame the great deep and brought order out of chaos.
20. Psalm 89:10 tn Heb “like one fatally wounded.”
21. Psalm 89:11 tn Heb “the world and its fullness, you established them.”
22. Psalm 89:12 sn Tabor and Hermon were two of the most prominent mountains in Palestine.
23. Psalm 89:13 sn The Lord’s arm, hand, and right hand all symbolize his activities, especially his exploits in war.
24. Psalm 89:13 tn Heb “is lifted up.” The idiom “the right hand is lifted up” refers to victorious military deeds (see Pss 89:42; 118:16).
25. Psalm 89:14 sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.
26. Psalm 89:14 tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).
27. Psalm 89:15 tn Heb “who know the shout.” “Shout” here refers to the shouts of the Lord’s worshipers (see Pss 27:6; 33:3; 47:5).
28. Psalm 89:15 tn Heb “in the light of your face they walk.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; Dan 9:17).
29. Psalm 89:16 tn Heb “are lifted up.”
30. Psalm 89:17 tn Heb “for the splendor of their strength [is] you.”
31. Psalm 89:17 tn Heb “you lift up our horn,” or if one follows the marginal reading (Qere), “our horn is lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).
32. Psalm 89:18 tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “our king” here and with “your anointed one” in Ps 84:9.
33. Psalm 89:18 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.
34. Psalm 89:19 tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is addressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the announcement of vv. 3-4.
35. Psalm 89:19 tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faithful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Nathan’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).
36. Psalm 89:19 tc The MT reads עֵזֶר (ʿezer, “help, strength”), thus “I have placed help on a warrior,” which might effectively mean “I have strengthened a warrior.” The BHS note suggests reading נֵזֶר (nezer, “crown”), similar to the sentiment of anointing in the next verse. HALOT suggests reading עֹזֶר (ʿozer, “hero”) based on an Ugaritic cognate which means “young man, hero, warrior” (HALOT 811 s.v. II עזר). Craigie treats it similarly, taking עזר as “lad/boy/stripling,” parallel to “young man” in the next line, and seeing either David and Saul or David and Goliath as the historical referent (P. C. Craigie, Psalms [WBC], 19:410).
37. Psalm 89:19 tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”
38. Psalm 89:20 tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification, indicating that a royal anointing is in view.
39. Psalm 89:21 tn Heb “with whom my hand will be firm.”
40. Psalm 89:22 tn Heb “an enemy will not exact tribute.” The imperfect is understood in a modal sense, indicating capability or potential.
41. Psalm 89:22 tn The translation understands the Hiphil of נָשַׁא (nashaʾ) in the sense of “act as a creditor.” This may allude to the practice of a conqueror forcing his subjects to pay tribute in exchange for “protection.” Another option is to take the verb from a homonymic verbal root meaning “to deceive,” “to trick.” Still another option is to emend the form to יִשָּׂא (yissaʾ), a Qal imperfect from נָאַשׂ (naʾas, “rise up”) and to translate “an enemy will not rise up against him” (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 2:317).
42. Psalm 89:22 tn Heb “and a son of violence will not oppress him.” The imperfect is understood in a modal sense, indicating capability or potential. The reference to a “son of violence” echoes the language of God’s promise to David in 2 Sam 7:10 (see also 1 Chr 17:9).
43. Psalm 89:24 tn Heb “and my faithfulness and my loyal love [will be] with him.”
44. Psalm 89:24 tn Heb “and by my name his horn will be lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 92:10; Lam 2:17).
45. Psalm 89:25 tn Some identify “the sea” as the Mediterranean and “the rivers” as the Euphrates and its tributaries. However, it is more likely that “the sea” and “the rivers” are symbols for hostile powers that oppose God and the king (see v. 9, as well as Ps 93:3-4).
46. Psalm 89:26 sn You are my father. The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.
47. Psalm 89:26 tn Heb “the rocky summit of my deliverance.”
48. Psalm 89:27 sn The firstborn son typically had special status and received special privileges.
49. Psalm 89:28 tn Heb “forever I will keep for him my loyal love and will make my covenant secure for him.”
50. Psalm 89:29 tn Heb “and I will set in place forever his offspring.”
51. Psalm 89:29 tn Heb “and his throne like the days of the heavens.”
52. Psalm 89:31 tn Or “desecrate.”
53. Psalm 89:32 tn Heb “I will punish with a club their rebellion.”sn Despite the harsh image of beating…with a club, the language reflects a father-son relationship (see v. 30; 2 Sam 7:14). According to Proverbs, a שֵׁבֶט (shevet, “club”) was sometimes utilized to administer corporal punishment to rebellious children (see Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15).
54. Psalm 89:32 tn Heb “with blows their sin.”
55. Psalm 89:33 tn Heb “break”; “make ineffectual.” Some prefer to emend אָפִיר (ʾafir; the Hiphil of פָּרַר, parar, “to break”) to אָסִיר (ʾasir; the Hiphil of סוּר, sur, “to turn aside”), a verb that appears in 2 Sam 7:15.
56. Psalm 89:33 tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”
57. Psalm 89:34 tn Or “desecrate.”
58. Psalm 89:34 tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”
59. Psalm 89:35 tn Or “lie to.”
60. Psalm 89:36 tn Heb “his offspring forever will be.”
61. Psalm 89:36 tn Heb “and his throne like the sun before me.”
62. Psalm 89:37 tn Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”
63. Psalm 89:37 tn Heb “and a witness in the sky, secure.” Scholars have offered a variety of opinions as to the identity of the “witness” referred to here, none of which is very convincing. It is preferable to join וְעֵד (v^eʿed) to עוֹלָם (ʿolam) in the preceding line and translate the commonly attested phrase עוֹלָם וְעֵד (“forever”). In this case one may translate the second line, “[it] will be secure like the skies.” Another option (the one reflected in the present translation) is to take עד as a rare noun meaning “throne” or “dais.” This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example, CTA 16 vi 22-23, where ksi (= כִּסֵּא, kisseʾ, “throne”) and ʿd (= עד, “dais”) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending בַּשַּׁחַק (bashakhaq, “in the heavens”) to כַּשַׁחַק (kashakhaq, “like the heavens”)—bet/kaf (כ/ב) confusion is widely attested—one can then read “[his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/stable.” Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens, while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens (שְׁחָקִים, sh^ekhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, “skies”) which frequently appears in parallelism to שְׁחָקִים.
64. Psalm 89:38 tn The Hebrew construction (conjunction + pronoun, followed by the verb) draws attention to the contrast between what follows and what precedes.
65. Psalm 89:38 tn Heb “your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (m^eshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 84:9; 132:10, 17).
66. Psalm 89:39 tn The Hebrew verb appears only here and in Lam 2:7.
67. Psalm 89:39 tn Heb “the covenant of your servant.”
68. Psalm 89:39 tn Heb “you dishonor [or “desecrate”] on the ground his crown.”
69. Psalm 89:40 tn The king here represents the land and cities over which he rules.
70. Psalm 89:41 tn Heb “all the passersby on the road.”
71. Psalm 89:42 tn Heb “you have lifted up the right hand of his adversaries.” The idiom “the right hand is lifted up” refers to victorious military deeds (see Pss 89:13; 118:16).
72. Psalm 89:43 tn The perfect verbal form predominates in vv. 38-45. The use of the imperfect in this one instance may be for rhetorical effect. The psalmist briefly lapses into dramatic mode, describing the king’s military defeat as if it were happening before his very eyes.
73. Psalm 89:43 tc Heb “you turn back, rocky summit, his sword.” The Hebrew term צוּר (tsur, “rocky summit”) makes no sense here, unless it is a divine title understood as vocative, “you turn back, O Rocky Summit, his sword.” Some emend the form to צֹר (tsor, “flint”) on the basis of Josh 5:2, which uses the phrase חַרְבוֹת צֻרִים (kharvot tsurim, “flint knives”). The noun צֹר (tsor, “flint”) can then be taken as “flint-like edge,” indicating the sharpness of the sword. Others emend the form to אָחוֹר (ʾakhor, “backward”) or to מִצַּר (mitsar, “from the adversary”). The present translation reflects the latter, assuming an original reading תָּשִׁיב מִצָּר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv mitsar kharbo), which was changed to תָּשִׁיב צָר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv tsar kharbo) by virtual haplography (confusion of bet/mem is well-attested) with צָר (tsar, “adversary”) then being misinterpreted as צוּר in the later tradition.
74. Psalm 89:43 tn Heb “and you have not caused him to stand in the battle.”
75. Psalm 89:44 tc Rather than the MT’s מִטְּהָרוֹ (mitt^eharo, “from his splendor”), the text should be read without the dagesh as מִטְהָרוֹ (mitharo, “his splendor”) or possibly as מַטֵּה טְהָרוֹ (matteh t^eharo, “the staff of his splendor”).
76. Psalm 89:44 tn The Hebrew verb מָגַר (magar) occurs only here and perhaps in Ezek 21:17.
77. Psalm 89:45 tn Heb “the days of his youth” (see as well Job 33:25).
78. Psalm 89:46 tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”
79. Psalm 89:47 tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ʾani, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).
80. Psalm 89:47 tn Heb “For what emptiness do you create all the sons of mankind?” In this context the term שָׁוְא (shavʾ) refers to mankind’s mortal nature and the brevity of life (see vv. 45, 48).
81. Psalm 89:48 tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
82. Psalm 89:49 sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.
83. Psalm 89:49 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).
84. Psalm 89:49 tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”
85. Psalm 89:50 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).
86. Psalm 89:50 tn Heb “remember, O Lord, the taunt against your servants.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the singular here, “your servant” (that is, the psalmist).
87. Psalm 89:50 tn Heb “my lifting up in my arms [or “against my chest”] all of the many, peoples.” The term רַבִּים (rabbim, “many”) makes no apparent sense here. For this reason some emend the text to רִבֵי (rive, “attacks by”), a defectively written plural construct form of רִיב (riv, “dispute; quarrel”).
88. Psalm 89:51 tn Heb “[by] which your enemies, O Lord, taunt, [by] which they taunt [at] the heels of your anointed one.”
89. Psalm 89:52 sn The final verse of Ps 89, v. 52, is a conclusion to this third “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and fourth “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 106:48, respectively).
90. Psalm 89:52 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.
91. Psalm 89:52 tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [ʾamen v^eʾamen], i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God; thus it has been translated “We agree! We agree!”