An instruction[a]. By Ethan, the Ezrahite
God’s Covenant with David
89 I will sing forever about the gracious love of the Lord;
from generation to generation
I will declare your faithfulness with my mouth.
2 I will declare that your gracious love was established forever;
in the heavens itself, you have established your faithfulness.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have made a promise to David, my servant.
4 “I will establish your dynasty forever,
and I will lift up one who will build[b] your throne
from generation to generation.”
Interlude
5 Even the heavens praise your awesome deeds, Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies compares to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the divine beings?
7 God is feared in the council of the holy ones,
revered by all those around him.
8 Lord God of the Heavenly Armies,
who is as mighty as you, Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the majestic[c] sea;
when its waves surge,
you calm them.
10 You crushed the proud one[d] to death;
with your powerful arm
you scattered your enemies.
11 Heaven and the earth belong to you,
the world and everything it contains—
you established them.
12 The north and south—you created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 Your arm is strong;
your hand is mighty;
indeed, your right hand is victorious.[e]
14 Righteousness and justice make up
the foundation of your throne;
gracious love and truth meet before you.
15 How happy are the people who can worship joyfully![f]
Lord, they walk in the light of your presence.
16 In your name they rejoice all day long;
they exult in your justice.[g]
17 For you are their strength’s grandeur;
by your favor you exalted our power.[h]
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the Lord,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
God’s Describes His Anointed
19 You spoke to your faithful[i] ones through a vision:[j]
“I will set a helper over[k] a warrior.
I will raise up a chosen one from the people.
20 I have found my servant David;
I have anointed him with my sacred oil,
21 with whom my power[l] will be firmly established;
for my arm will strengthen him.
22 No enemy will deceive him;
no wicked person[m] will afflict him.
23 I will crush his enemies before him
and strike those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and gracious love will be with him,
and in my name his power[n] will be exalted.
25 I will place his hand[o] over the sea,
and his right hand[p] over the rivers.
26 He will announce to me
‘You are my father,
my God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 “Indeed, I myself made him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will show[q] my gracious love toward him forever,
since my covenant is securely established with him.
29 I will establish his dynasty[r] forever,
and his throne as long as heaven endures.[s]
30 “But if his sons abandon my laws and
do not follow my ordinances,
31 if they profane my statutes;
and do not keep my commands,
32 then I will punish their disobedience with a rod
and their iniquity with lashes.
33 But I will not cut off[t] my gracious love from him,
and I will not stop being faithful.
34 I will not dishonor my covenant,
because I will not change what I have spoken.[u]
35 I have sworn by my holiness once for all:
I will not lie to David.
36 His dynasty[v] will last forever
and his throne will be like the sun before me.
37 It will be established forever like the moon,
a faithful witness in the sky.”
Interlude
A Commitment to Persevere
38 But you have spurned, rejected,
and became angry with your anointed one.
39 You have dishonored the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown on the ground.
40 You have broken through all his[w] walls;
you have laid his fortresses in ruin.
41 All who pass by on their way plunder him;
he has become a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
you have caused all of his enemies to rejoice.
43 Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword
and did not support him in battle.
44 You have caused his splendor[x] to cease
and cast down his throne to the ground.
45 You have caused the days of his youth to be cut short;
you have covered him with shame.
Interlude
46 How long, Lord, will you hide yourself? Forever?
Will your anger continuously burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my lifetime is!
How powerless have you created all human beings![y]
48 What valiant man can live and not see death?
Who can deliver himself[z] from the power[aa] of Sheol.[ab]
Interlude
49 Where is your gracious love of old, Lord,
that in your faithfulness you promised to David?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servant!
I carry inside me all the insults of many people,
51 when your enemies reproached you, Lord,
when they reproached the footsteps[ac] of your anointed.
52 Blessed is the Lord forever!
Amen and amen!
Footnotes
- Psalm 89:1 Lit. maskil
- Psalm 89:4 Or confirm
- Psalm 89:9 Lit. roaring
- Psalm 89:10 Lit. Rahab
- Psalm 89:13 Lit. lifted up
- Psalm 89:15 Lit. who know the joyful shout
- Psalm 89:16 Or righteousness
- Psalm 89:17 Lit. horn
- Psalm 89:19 Or godly; so MT LXX; DSS 4Q98g reads chosen
- Psalm 89:19 So MT LXX; DSS 4Q98g reads vision; you said
- Psalm 89:19 So MT LXX; DSS 4Q98g reads I have lent support to
- Psalm 89:21 Lit. hand
- Psalm 89:22 Lit. no son of iniquity
- Psalm 89:24 Lit. horn
- Psalm 89:25 I.e. his authority
- Psalm 89:25 I.e. his authority
- Psalm 89:28 Lit. keep
- Psalm 89:29 Lit. seed
- Psalm 89:29 Lit. as the days of the heavens
- Psalm 89:33 Lit. break
- Psalm 89:34 Lit. what goes out of my lips
- Psalm 89:36 Lit. seed
- Psalm 89:40 Or its
- Psalm 89:44 Or luster
- Psalm 89:47 Lit. all sons of Adam
- Psalm 89:48 Lit. deliver his soul
- Psalm 89:48 Lit. hand
- Psalm 89:48 I.e. the realm of the dead
- Psalm 89:51 Lit. the hind part