Psalms 89
1 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].
A psalm (maskil) of Ethan the Ezraite I will sing of the Lord's trustworthy love forever; I will tell all generations of your faithfulness.
2 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.
For I have said, “Your unfailing love lasts forever; your faithfulness endures as long as the heavens.”
3 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:
You said, “I have made an agreement with my chosen one, I gave a binding promise to my servant David:
4 ‘I will enable various ones of your descendants to always be kings; the line of kings descended from you [MTY] will never end.’”
I will make sure your lineage lasts forever; I will keep your throne secure for all generations.” (Selah)
5 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].
All the heavenly beings will sing of the wonderful things you have done, Lord; angels will gather to sing of your faithfulness.
6 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.
For who in heaven can compare to the Lord? Who is like the Lord even among the angels?
7 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!
The heavenly council are in awe of God; all who surround him are overwhelmed by him.
8 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.
Lord God Almighty, who is as powerful as you? In all this, Lord, you are completely trustworthy.
9 You rule over the powerful seas; when their waves rise up, you calm them.
You rule the restless seas; you calm their stormy waves.
10 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].
You crushed Rahab the sea-monster to death; by your power you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; and everything on the earth is yours, because you created it all.
The heavens belong to you, and the earth too; you made the world and everything in it.
12 You created [everything from] the north to the south. Tabor [Mountain] and Hermon [Mountain] joyfully praise you [MTY].
You created north and south; Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon celebrate you.
13 (You/Your arms) are very powerful; (you/your hands) are extremely strong.
Your arm is powerful. Your hand is strong. Your right hand is held up high in command.
14 (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].
Your character of goodness and fairness is the basis for the way you rule; dependable love and trustworthiness are always with you.
15 Yahweh, happy are the people who worship you with joyful shouts, who live knowing that you are always watching over them.
How happy are those who know how to shout your praises, Lord. They live in the light of your presence.
16 Every day, throughout the day, they rejoice in what you [MTY] [have done], and they praise you for being very good [to them].
They celebrate the person you are all day long, so glad that you do what's right.
17 You give us your glorious strength; because you act in our favor, we defeat [MET] [our enemies].
They rely on you, their glory and strength; by your grace you lift us up.
18 Yahweh, you gave us [the one who] protects us [MET]; you, the holy God whom we Israelis worship, chose a king for us.
Yes, the Lord is the one who shields us, and our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
19 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.
Once you spoke in a vision to your faithful servant and said, “I have given strength to the warrior I have chosen from the people to become king.
20 That man is David, the one who will serve me [faithfully], and I anointed him with sacred olive oil [to make him king].
I have selected David my servant, and I have anointed him with the oil of my holiness.
21 I [MTY] will always strengthen him; with my power [MTY] I will make him strong.
I have placed my hand on him to steady him; and I have made him strong by my powerful arm.
22 His enemies will never find ways to defeat him, and wicked people will never defeat him.
His enemies will not deceive him; the wicked will not bring him down.
23 I will crush his enemies in front of him and get rid of those who hate him.
I will wipe out his enemies before him; I will strike down those who hate him.
24 I will always be loyal to him and faithfully love him and enable him to defeat [MET] [his enemies].
My trustworthiness and unfailing love will be with him, and through me he will be victorious.
25 I will cause (his kingdom/the area that he rules) to include all the land from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Euphrates] River.
I will extend his rule from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River.
26 He will say to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the one who protects [MET] and saves me.’
He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 I will give him [the rights/privileges that a man’s] firstborn son has [MET]; he will be the greatest king on the earth.
I will also make him my first-born son, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will always be loyal to him, and my agreement [to bless] him will last forever.
I will love him faithfully forever; my agreement with him shall never come to an end.
29 I will establish a line of his descendants that will never end, various ones of his descendants will always be kings.
I will make sure his royal line lasts forever; his dynasty will continue as long as the heavens endure.
30 But, if [some of] his descendants disobey my laws, and do not not behave like my commands say that they should,
But if his descendants abandon my laws, if they do not follow my rules,
31 if they disregard my requirements and do not do the right things that I have told them to do,
if they break my decrees, and do not keep my commandments,
32 I will punish them severely [MTY] and cause them to suffer for doing wrong.
I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a rod, and their sin by lashing them with a whip.
33 But I will not stop faithfully loving [David], and I will always do what I promised him.
However, I will not take away my love from him; I will not break my promise to him.
34 I will not break the agreement that I made with him; I will not change even one word that I spoke [to him].
I will not annul the agreement I have with him; I will not alter a single word I've said.
35 Once I made a solemn promise to David, and that will never change, and because I am God, I will never lie to David.
By my holy character I have made a vow to David that I will not lie to him.
36 [I promised that] the line of kings descended from him will go on forever; it will last as long as the sun [shines].
His royal line will last forever, and his dynasty will continue before me as long as the sun endures.
37 That line will (be as permanent/last as long) as the moon that is always watching everything from the sky.
It will continue forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the heavens.” (Selah)
38 But [Yahweh], now you have rejected [DOU] David! You are very angry with the king whom you appointed.
But you have rejected and abandoned him! You are angry with your chosen king!
39 [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.
You have broken the agreement you had with him; you have thrown his crown to the ground!
40 You have torn down the walls [that protect] his [city], and allowed all his forts to become ruins.
You have torn down his defensive walls; you have ruined his fortresses.
41 All those who pass by plunder/steal his possessions; his neighbors (laugh at/ridicule) him.
Everyone who passes by has robbed him; he has become an object of mockery to the nations nearby.
42 You have enabled his enemies to defeat him; you have made them all happy.
You have made his enemies strong; you have made them celebrate their victory.
43 You have caused his sword to become useless, and you have not helped him in his battles.
You have repelled his sharp sword; you have not helped him in battle.
44 You have caused his splendor to end (OR, You have taken away his power by knocking his throne to the ground.
You took away his glory; you threw his throne to the ground.
45 You have caused him to look old when he is still young and caused him to be very shamed/disgraced.
You have made him grow old before his time; you have totally humiliated him. (Selah)
46 O Yahweh, how long [will this continue]? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like a fire?
How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself from us forever, your anger burning like fire?
47 Do not forget that life is very short; have you created all us people in vain?
Remember me—my life is so short! Why did you bother creating futile humanity?
48 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)
There's no one who doesn't die—no one can save themselves from the power of the grave. (Selah) (Sheol h7585)
49 Yahweh, you promised long ago that you would faithfully love us; why are you not doing that? You solemnly promised that to David!
Where is the trustworthy love you used to have, Lord, that you faithfully promised to David?
50 Yahweh, do not forget that people insult me! (Heathen people/People who do not know you) curse me!
Don't forget, Lord, how your servants are being humiliated! I'm burdened down with the insults of so many nations!
51 Yahweh, your enemies insult your chosen king! They insult/ridicule him wherever he goes.
Your enemies taunt me, Lord, mocking your king wherever he goes.
52 I hope/desire that Yahweh will be praised forever! Amen! May it be so!
May the Lord be blessed for ever. Amen and amen.
