Psalms 89
1 Of understanding, for Ethan the Ezrahite. The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever. I will shew forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation.
Yahweh, I will sing forever about the ways you faithfully love me; people not yet born will hear that you faithfully [do all that you have promised].
2 For thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up for ever in the heavens: thy truth shall be prepared in them.
I will tell people that you will faithfully love us forever, and that your being faithful [to do what you have promised] is as permanent as the sky.
3 I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant:
Yahweh said, “I have made an agreement with David, whom I chose [to serve me]. I have made this solemn (agreement with/promise to) him:
4 Thy seed will I settle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation.
‘I will enable various ones of your descendants to always be kings; the line of kings descended from you [MTY] will never end.’”
5 The heavens shall confess thy wonders, O Lord: and thy truth in the church of the saints.
Yahweh, I desire that all [those beings who are in] [MTY] heaven will praise you for the wonderful things that you do, and that all your holy angels will sing about how you faithfully [do what you promise].
6 For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord: or who among the sons of God shall be like to God?
There is no one [RHQ] in heaven who can be compared with you, Yahweh. There are no angels [RHQ] in heaven who are equal to you.
7 God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints: great and terrible above all them that are about him.
When your holy angels gather together, they declare that you must be revered; they say that you are more awesome than all the angels that surround your throne!
8 O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou art mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about thee.
O Yahweh, God Almighty, there is no one [RHQ] who is powerful like you are; your faithfully doing [all that you promise] is [like a cloak that] [MET] [always] surrounds you.
9 Thou rulest the power of the sea: and appeasest the motion of the waves thereof.
You rule over the powerful seas; when their waves rise up, you calm them.
10 Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain: with the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies.
You are the one who crushed [and killed the great sea monster named] Rahab. You [defeated and] scattered your enemies with your great power [MTY].
11 Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded:
The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; and everything on the earth is yours, because you created it all.
12 The north and the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name:
You created [everything from] the north to the south. Tabor [Mountain] and Hermon [Mountain] joyfully praise you [MTY].
13 Thy arm is with might. Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy right hand exalted:
(You/Your arms) are very powerful; (you/your hands) are extremely strong.
14 Justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face:
(Your rule [MTY] over us is based on/As you rule over us, you are always) treating people fairly and justly, and on/are always faithfully loving us and doing [what you promised].
15 Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance:
Yahweh, happy are the people who worship you with joyful shouts, who live knowing that you are always watching over them.
16 And in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted.
Every day, throughout the day, they rejoice in what you [MTY] [have done], and they praise you for being very good [to them].
17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted.
You give us your glorious strength; because you act in our favor, we defeat [MET] [our enemies].
18 For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one of Israel.
Yahweh, you gave us [the one who] protects us [MET]; you, the holy God whom we Israelis worship, chose a king for us.
19 Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints, and saidst: I have laid help upon one that is mighty, and have exalted one chosen out of my people.
Long ago you spoke in a vision to one of your servants/prophets, saying, “I have helped a famous soldier; I chose him from among all the people to be a king.
20 I have found David my servant: with my holy oil I have anointed him.
That man is David, the one who will serve me [faithfully], and I anointed him with sacred olive oil [to make him king].
21 For my hand shall help him: and my arm shall strengthen him.
I [MTY] will always strengthen him; with my power [MTY] I will make him strong.
22 The enemy shall have no advantage over him: nor the son of iniquity have power to hurt him.
His enemies will never find ways to defeat him, and wicked people will never defeat him.
23 And I will cut down his enemies before his face; and them that hate him I will put to flight.
I will crush his enemies in front of him and get rid of those who hate him.
24 And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
I will always be loyal to him and faithfully love him and enable him to defeat [MET] [his enemies].
25 And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the rivers.
I will cause (his kingdom/the area that he rules) to include all the land from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Euphrates] River.
26 He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father: my God, and the support of my salvation.
He will say to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the one who protects [MET] and saves me.’
27 And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the earth.
I will give him [the rights/privileges that a man’s] firstborn son has [MET]; he will be the greatest king on the earth.
28 I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him.
I will always be loyal to him, and my agreement [to bless] him will last forever.
29 And I will make his seed to endure for evermore: and his throne as the days of heaven.
I will establish a line of his descendants that will never end, various ones of his descendants will always be kings.
30 And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments:
But, if [some of] his descendants disobey my laws, and do not not behave like my commands say that they should,
31 If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments:
if they disregard my requirements and do not do the right things that I have told them to do,
32 I will visit their iniquities with a rod: and their sins with stripes.
I will punish them severely [MTY] and cause them to suffer for doing wrong.
33 But my mercy I will not take away from him: nor will I suffer my truth to fail.
But I will not stop faithfully loving [David], and I will always do what I promised him.
34 Neither will I profane my covenant: and the words that proceed from my mouth I will not make void.
I will not break the agreement that I made with him; I will not change even one word that I spoke [to him].
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David:
Once I made a solemn promise to David, and that will never change, and because I am God, I will never lie to David.
36 His seed shall endure for ever.
[I promised that] the line of kings descended from him will go on forever; it will last as long as the sun [shines].
37 And his throne as the sun before me: and as the moon perfect for ever, and a faithful witness in heaven.
That line will (be as permanent/last as long) as the moon that is always watching everything from the sky.
38 But thou hast rejected and despised: thou hast been angry with thy anointed.
But [Yahweh], now you have rejected [DOU] David! You are very angry with the king whom you appointed.
39 Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his sanctuary on the earth.
[It seems that] you have broken the agreement that you made with your servant, [David]; it seems as though you [have signaled that he is no longer the king by] throwing his crown into the dust/dirt.
40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges: thou hast made his strength fear.
You have torn down the walls [that protect] his [city], and allowed all his forts to become ruins.
41 All that pass by the way have robbed him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours.
All those who pass by plunder/steal his possessions; his neighbors (laugh at/ridicule) him.
42 Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him: thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
You have enabled his enemies to defeat him; you have made them all happy.
43 Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and hast not assisted him in battle.
You have caused his sword to become useless, and you have not helped him in his battles.
44 Thou hast made his purification to cease: and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground.
You have caused his splendor to end (OR, You have taken away his power by knocking his throne to the ground.
45 Thou hast shortened the days of his time: thou hast covered him with confusion.
You have caused him to look old when he is still young and caused him to be very shamed/disgraced.
46 How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end? shall thy anger burn like fire?
O Yahweh, how long [will this continue]? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like a fire?
47 Remember what my substance is for hast thou made all the children of men in vain?
Do not forget that life is very short; have you created all us people in vain?
48 Who is the man that shall live, and not see death: that shall deliver his soul from the hand of hell? (Sheol h7585)
No one can [RHQ] keep on living and never die; (No one can [RHQ] avoid going/Everyone will go) to the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
49 Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, according to what thou didst swear to David in thy truth?
Yahweh, you promised long ago that you would faithfully love us; why are you not doing that? You solemnly promised that to David!
50 Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I have held in my bosom) of many nations:
Yahweh, do not forget that people insult me! (Heathen people/People who do not know you) curse me!
51 Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the change of thy anointed.
Yahweh, your enemies insult your chosen king! They insult/ridicule him wherever he goes.
52 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it. So be it.
I hope/desire that Yahweh will be praised forever! Amen! May it be so!
