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Psalm 89

A maskil by Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing forever about the evidence of your mercy, O Yahweh.
    I will tell about your faithfulness to every generation.
I said, “Your mercy will last forever.
    Your faithfulness stands firm in the heavens.”

You said, “I have made a promise[a] to my chosen one.
    I swore this oath to my servant David:
        ‘I will make your dynasty continue forever.
        I built your throne to last throughout every generation.’” Selah

O Yahweh, the heavens praise your miracles
    and your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
Who in the skies can compare with Yahweh?
    Who among the heavenly beings is like Yahweh?
El is terrifying in the council of the holy ones.
    He is greater and more awe-inspiring than those who surround him.
O Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth, who is like you?
    Mighty Yah, even your faithfulness surrounds you.
You rule the raging sea.
    When its waves rise, you quiet them.
10 You crushed Rahab;[b] it was like a corpse.
    With your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours.
    The earth is also yours.
    You made the world and everything in it.
12 You created north and south.
    Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing your name joyfully.
13 Your arm is mighty.
    Your hand is strong.
    Your right hand is lifted high.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne.
    Mercy and truth stand in front of you.
15 Blessed are the people who know how to praise you.
    They walk in the light of your presence, O Yahweh.
16 They find joy in your name all day long.
    They are joyful in your righteousness
17 because you are the glory of their strength.
    By your favor you give us victory.[c]
18 Our shield belongs to Yahweh.
    Our king belongs to Qedosh Yisrael.

19 Once in a vision you said to your faithful ones:
    “I set a boy above warriors.[d]
    I have raised up one chosen from the people.
20 I found my servant David.
    I anointed him with my holy oil.
21 My hand is ready to help him.
    My arm will also give him strength.
22 No enemy will take him by surprise.
    No wicked person will mistreat him.
23 I will crush his enemies in front of him
    and defeat those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and mercy will be with him,
    and in my name he will be victorious.[e]
25 I will put his left hand on the sea
    and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He will call out to me,
    ‘You are my Ab, my El, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 Yes, I will make him the firstborn.
    He will be the Most High to the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will stay with him forever.
    My promise to him is unbreakable.
29 I will make his dynasty endure forever
    and his throne like the days of heaven.

30 “If his descendants abandon my teachings
    and do not live by my rules,
31 if they violate my laws
    and do not obey my commandments,
32 then with a rod I will punish their rebellion
    and their crimes with beatings.
33 But I will not take my mercy away from him
    or allow my truth to become a lie.
34 I will not dishonor my promise
    or alter my own agreement.
35 On my holiness I have taken an oath once and for all:
    I will not lie to David.
36 His dynasty will last forever.
    His throne will be in my presence like the sun.
37 Like the moon his throne will stand firm forever.
    It will be like a faithful witness in heaven.”

38 But you have despised, rejected,
    and become angry with your anointed one.
39 You have refused to recognize the promise to your servant
    and have thrown his crown into the dirt.
40 You have broken through all his walls
    and have laid his fortified cities in ruins.
41 (Everyone who passed by robbed him.
    He has become the object of his neighbors’ scorn.)
42 You held the right hand of his enemies high
    and made all of his adversaries rejoice.
43 You even took his sword out of his hand
    and failed to support him in battle.
44 You put an end to his splendor
    and hurled his throne to the ground.
45 You cut short the days of his youth
    and covered him with shame. Selah

46 How long, O Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your anger continue to burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is!
    Have you created Adam’s descendants for no reason?
48 Can a mortal go on living and never see death?
    Who can set himself free from the power of the grave? Selah
49 Where is the evidence of your mercy, Adonay?
    You swore an oath to David
    on the basis of your faithfulness.

50 Remember, O Yahweh,[f] how your servant[g] has been insulted.
    Remember how I have carried in my heart the insults from so many people.
51 Your enemies insulted me.
    They insulted your Mashiach[h] every step he took.

52 Thank Yahweh forever.
    Amen and amen!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 89:3 Or “covenant.”
  2. Psalm 89:10 Rahab is the name of a demonic creature who opposes God.
  3. Psalm 89:17 Hebrew meaning of “give us victory” uncertain.
  4. Psalm 89:19 Hebrew meaning of this line uncertain.
  5. Psalm 89:24 Hebrew meaning of “he will be victorious” uncertain.
  6. Psalm 89:50 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts “Adonay.”
  7. Psalm 89:50 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Greek, Syriac; other Hebrew manuscripts “your servants.”
  8. Psalm 89:51 Or “anointed one.”

Psalm 89[a]

A maskil[b] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing(A) of the Lord’s great love forever;
    with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(B)
    through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
    that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(C)
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
    I have sworn to David my servant,
‘I will establish your line forever
    and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[c](D)

The heavens(E) praise your wonders, Lord,
    your faithfulness too, in the assembly(F) of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(G)
In the council(H) of the holy ones(I) God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.(J)
Who is like you,(K) Lord God Almighty?(L)
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.(M)
10 You crushed Rahab(N) like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered(O) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(P) and yours also the earth;(Q)
    you founded the world and all that is in it.(R)
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor(S) and Hermon(T) sing for joy(U) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(V)

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(W)
    love and faithfulness go before you.(X)
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk(Y) in the light(Z) of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name(AA) all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,(AB)
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.[d](AC)
18 Indeed, our shield[e](AD) belongs to the Lord,
    our king(AE) to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once you spoke in a vision,
    to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David(AF) my servant;(AG)
    with my sacred oil(AH) I have anointed(AI) him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.(AJ)
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(AK)
    the wicked will not oppress(AL) him.
23 I will crush his foes before him(AM)
    and strike down his adversaries.(AN)
24 My faithful love will be with him,(AO)
    and through my name his horn[f] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.(AP)
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(AQ)
    my God, the Rock(AR) my Savior.’(AS)
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(AT)
    the most exalted(AU) of the kings(AV) of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.(AW)
29 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure.(AX)

30 “If his sons forsake my law
    and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
    their iniquity with flogging;(AY)
33 but I will not take my love from him,(AZ)
    nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter what my lips have uttered.(BA)
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
    and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
    and his throne endure before me like the sun;(BB)
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
    the faithful witness in the sky.”(BC)

38 But you have rejected,(BD) you have spurned,
    you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
    and have defiled his crown in the dust.(BE)
40 You have broken through all his walls(BF)
    and reduced his strongholds(BG) to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered(BH) him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(BI)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.(BJ)
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
    and have not supported him in battle.(BK)
44 You have put an end to his splendor
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short(BL) the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(BM)

46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?(BN)
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(BO)
    For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
    or who can escape the power of the grave?(BP)
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
    which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[g] been mocked,(BQ)
    how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
    with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(BR)

52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.(BS)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 89:1 In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
  2. Psalm 89:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
  4. Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
  5. Psalm 89:18 Or sovereign
  6. Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  7. Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have