Psalm 89
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 89
God’s Covenant with David
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord,[a] forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.(A)
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.(B)
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to my servant David:(C)
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever
and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah(D)
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.(E)
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,(F)
7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and awesome[b] above all who are around him?(G)
8 O Lord God of hosts,
who is as mighty as you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.(H)
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.(I)
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.(J)
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it—you founded them.(K)
12 The north and the south[c]—you created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.(L)
13 You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.(M)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.(N)
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;(O)
16 they exult in your name all day long
and extol[d] your righteousness.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.(P)
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.(Q)
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one and said,
“I have set the crown[e] on one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.(R)
20 I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;(S)
21 my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.(T)
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.(U)
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.(V)
25 I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’(W)
27 I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.(X)
28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.(Y)
29 I will establish his line forever
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.(Z)
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my ordinances,(AA)
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with scourges,(AB)
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.(AC)
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.(AD)
35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.(AE)
36 His line shall continue forever,
and his throne endure before me like the sun.(AF)
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
an enduring witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have spurned and rejected him;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.(AG)
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.(AH)
40 You have broken through all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.(AI)
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(AJ)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.(AK)
43 Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not supported him in battle.(AL)
44 You have removed the scepter from his hand[f]
and hurled his throne to the ground.(AM)
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah(AN)
46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?(AO)
47 Remember how short my time is—[g]
for what vanity you have created all mortals!(AP)
48 Who can live and never see death?
Who can escape the power of Sheol? Selah(AQ)
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?(AR)
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted,
how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,[h](AS)
51 with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,
with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.(AT)
52 Blessed be the Lord forever.
Amen and Amen.(AU)
Psalm 89
King James Version
89 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.
6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
8 O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
9 Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.
11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
12 The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.
16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.
18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:
21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.
24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;
32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
38 But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.
39 Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.
41 All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.
42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.
44 Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.
46 How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.