Psalm 89 - New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Psalm 89^[a]

A Lament over God’s Promise to David

¹ A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

A

I

² I will sing of your mercy forever, Lord^(A)
proclaim your faithfulness through all ages.
^{3 [b]}For I said, “My mercy is established forever;
my faithfulness will stand as long as the heavens.
⁴ I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
⁵ I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages.”^(B)
Selah

II

⁶ The heavens praise your marvels, Lord,
your loyalty in the assembly of the holy ones.^(C)
7 Who in the skies ranks with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the sons of the gods?^[c](D)
8 A God dreaded in the council of the holy ones,
greater and more awesome than all those around him!
⁹ Lord, God of hosts, who is like you?
Mighty Lord, your faithfulness surrounds you.
¹⁰ You rule the raging sea;^(E)
you still its swelling waves.
¹¹ You crush Rahab^[d] with a mortal blow;
with your strong arm you scatter your foes.
¹² Yours are the heavens, yours the earth;
you founded the world and everything in it.^{(F)
13 [e]}Zaphon and Amanus you created;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.
¹⁴ You have a mighty arm.
Your hand is strong; your right hand is ever exalted.
¹⁵ Justice and judgment are the foundation of your throne;
mercy and faithfulness march before you.^(G)
16 Blessed the people who know the war cry,
who walk in the radiance of your face, Lord.
¹⁷ In your name they sing joyfully all the day;
they rejoice in your righteousness.^(H)
18 You are their majestic strength;
by your favor our horn^[f] is exalted.^(I)
19 Truly the Lord is our shield,
the Holy One of Israel, our king!^(J)

III

²⁰ Then you spoke in vision;^(K)
to your faithful ones you said:
“I have set a leader over the warriors;
I have raised up a chosen one from the people.
²¹ I have chosen David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him.
²² My hand will be with him;^(L)
my arm will make him strong.
²³ No enemy shall outwit him,
nor shall the wicked defeat him.
²⁴ I will crush his foes before him,
strike down those who hate him.
²⁵ My faithfulness and mercy will be with him;
through my name his horn will be exalted.
^{26 [g]}I will set his hand upon the sea,
his right hand upon the rivers.
²⁷ He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,^(M)
my God, the Rock of my salvation!’
²⁸ I myself make him the firstborn,
Most High^[h] over the kings of the earth.
²⁹ Forever I will maintain my mercy for him;^(N)
my covenant with him stands firm.
³⁰ I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens.
³¹ If his descendants forsake my teaching,^(O)
do not follow my decrees,
³² If they fail to observe my statutes,
do not keep my commandments,
³³ I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with blows.
³⁴ But I will not take my mercy from him,
nor will I betray my bond of faithfulness.^(P)
35 I will not violate my covenant;
the promise of my lips I will not alter.^(Q)
36 By my holiness I swore once for all:^(R)
I will never be false to David.
^{37 [i]}His dynasty will continue forever,^(S)
his throne, like the sun before me.
³⁸ Like the moon it will stand eternal,
forever firm like the sky!”
Selah

B

IV

³⁹ But now you have rejected and spurned,^(T)
been enraged at your anointed.
⁴⁰ You renounced the covenant with your servant,
defiled his crown in the dust.
⁴¹ You broke down all city walls,^(U)
left his strongholds in ruins.
⁴² All who pass through seize plunder;
his neighbors deride him.
⁴³ You have exalted the right hand of his foes,
have gladdened all his enemies.^(V)
44 You turned back his sharp sword,
did not support him in battle.
⁴⁵ You brought to an end his splendor,
hurled his throne to the ground.
⁴⁶ You cut short the days of his youth,
covered him with shame.
Selah
V
⁴⁷ How long, Lord? Will you hide forever?
Must your wrath smolder like fire?^(W)
48 Remember how brief life is,
how frail the sons of man you have created!^(X)
49 What is man, that he should live and not see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?^(Y)
Selah
VI
⁵⁰ Where are your former mercies, Lord,
that you swore to David in your faithfulness?
⁵¹ Remember, Lord, the insults to your servants,
how I have borne in my bosom the slander of the nations.^(Z)
52 Your enemies, Lord, insult;
they insult each step of your anointed.
^{53 [j]}Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and amen!^(AA)

Footnotes

1. Psalm 89 The community laments the defeat of the Davidic king, to whom God promised kingship as enduring as the heavens (Ps 89:2–5). The Psalm narrates how God became king of the divine beings (Ps 89:6–9) and how the Davidic king became king of earthly kings (Ps 89:20–38). Since the defeat of the king calls into question God’s promise, the community ardently prays God to be faithful to the original promise to David (Ps 89:39–52).
2. 89:3–5 David’s dynasty is to be as long-lasting as the heavens, a statement reinforced by using the same verbs (establish, stand) both of the divine love and loyalty and of the Davidic dynasty and throne, cf. Ps 89:29–30.
3. 89:7 The sons of the gods: “the holy ones” and “courtiers” of Ps 89:6, 8. These heavenly spirits are members of God’s court.
4. 89:11 Rahab: a mythological sea monster whose name is used in the Bible mainly as a personification of primeval chaos, cf. Jb 9:13; 26:12; Ps 74:13–14; Is 51:9.
5. 89:13 Zaphon and Amanus: two sacred mountains in northern Syria which came to designate the directions of north and south. Tabor: a high hill in the valley of Jezreel in northern Israel. Hermon: a mountain in Lebanon, forming the southern spur of the Anti-Lebanon range.
6. 89:18, 25 Horn: a concrete noun for an abstract quality; horn is a symbol of strength.
7. 89:26 The sea…the rivers: geographically the limits of the Davidic empire (the Mediterranean and the Euphrates); mythologically, the traditional forces of chaos. See note on Ps 89:11.
8. 89:28 Most High: a divine title, which is here extended to David as God’s own king, cf. Ps 2:7–9; Is 9:5. As God rules over the members of the heavenly council (Ps 89:6–9), so David, God’s surrogate, rules over earthly kings.
9. 89:37–38 Like the sun before me…like the sky: as enduring as the heavenly lights, cf. Ps 89:2–5 and Ps 72:5, 17.
10. 89:53 The doxology at the end of the third book of the Psalms; it is not part of Ps 89.

Cross references

1. 89:2 : Is 63:7.
2. 89:5 : Ps 61:7–8; 132:11; 2 Sm 7:8–16.
3. 89:6 : Ps 29:1; 82:1; Jb 1:6; 5:1.
4. 89:7–9 : Ps 35:10; 86:8; 113:5; Ex 15:11; Jer 10:6.
5. 89:10–11 : Ps 65:8; 74:13–15; 107:29; Jb 7:12; Is 51:9–10.
6. 89:12 : Ps 24:1–2; 50:12; Dt 10:14; 1 Cor 10:26.
7. 89:15 : Ps 85:11–12; 97:2.
8. 89:17 : Ps 47:2; Zep 3:14.
9. 89:18 : Ps 112:9; 148:14.
10. 89:19 : Ps 47:9; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; Is 6:3.
11. 89:20–21 : Ps 78:70; 132:11–12; 2 Sm 7:4, 8–16; 1 Chr 17:3, 7–14; Is 42:1; Acts 13:22.
12. 89:22–25 : 1 Sm 2:9–10.
13. 89:27–28 : Ps 2:7; 110:2–3; 2 Sm 7:9, 14; Col 1:15, 18; Rev 1:5.
14. 89:29–30 : Ps 18:51; 61:8; 144:10; 2 Sm 7:11; Is 55:3.
15. 89:31–33 : Lv 26:14–33.
16. 89:34 : Ps 40:12; Sir 47:22.
17. 89:35 : Jer 33:20–21.
18. 89:36 : Am 4:2.
19. 89:37–38 : Ps 61:8; 72:5; Sir 43:6.
20. 89:39–47 : Ps 44:10–25.
21. 89:41–42 : Ps 80:13–14.
22. 89:43 : Lam 1:5.
23. 89:47 : Ps 13:2; 44:25; 74:10; 79:5; Dt 4:24.
24. 89:48 : Ps 39:5–6; 62:10; 90:9–10; 144:4; Jb 7:6, 16; 14:1, 5; Eccl 6:12; Wis 2:5.
25. 89:49 : Ps 90:3.
26. 89:51 : Ps 79:12.
27. 89:53 : Ps 41:14; 72:18; 106:48.