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 Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing evermore of the love of the Lord, proclaiming to all generations his 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 your love you did promise to build up forever, your faithfulness firm as the heavens themselves.
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:
‘I have made with my chosen a covenant, and sworn to David my servant,
4 ‘I will enable various ones of your descendants to always be kings; the line of kings descended from you [MTY] will never end.’”
to establish his seed forever, and to build up his throne to all ages.’ (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].
Then the holy assembly in heaven praised your marvellous faithfulness, Lord.
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 the skies may compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the gods?
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!
A God to be feared in the holy assembly, awful and great above all who are round 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.
O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you? Your strength and faithfulness, Lord, surround you.
9 You rule over the powerful seas; when their waves rise up, you calm them.
You are the Lord of the raging sea: when its waves surge, it is you who still them.
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].
It was you who did pierce and crush Rahab in pieces, and scatter your foes by your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; and everything on the earth is yours, because you created it all.
Yours are the heavens, yours also the earth, the world and its fulness, it’s you who did found them.
12 You created [everything from] the north to the south. Tabor [Mountain] and Hermon [Mountain] joyfully praise you [MTY].
The north and the south, it’s you have created them; Tabor and Hermon shout praise to your name.
13 (You/Your arms) are very powerful; (you/your hands) are extremely strong.
You have an arm with the might of a hero; strong is your hand, high uplifted your right hand.
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].
Justice and right are the base of your throne, kindness and faithfulness ever attend you.
15 Yahweh, happy are the people who worship you with joyful shouts, who live knowing that you are always watching over them.
Happy the people who know the glad shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face.
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 exult in your name all the day, and your righteousness they extol.
17 You give us your glorious strength; because you act in our favor, we defeat [MET] [our enemies].
For you are our strength and our pride. Your favour will lift us to honour.
18 Yahweh, you gave us [the one who] protects us [MET]; you, the holy God whom we Israelis worship, chose a king for us.
For the holy Lord of Israel keeps our defender and king.
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.
In a vision of old you did speak in this way to the one whom you loved: ‘A crown I have set on the hero I chose to be over the people
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 found my servant David, and anointed with holy oil.
21 I [MTY] will always strengthen him; with my power [MTY] I will make him strong.
My hand will be with him forever, my arm will give him strength.
22 His enemies will never find ways to defeat him, and wicked people will never defeat him.
‘No enemy will dare to assail him, nor the wicked to oppress him;
23 I will crush his enemies in front of him and get rid of those who hate him.
but his foes I will shatter 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 loyal love shall attend him, and I will lift him to honour.
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 set his hand on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He will say to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the one who protects [MET] and saves me.’
‘As for him, he will call me “My father, my God, and my rock of 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.
And I will make him my firstborn, highest of kings on the earth.
28 I will always be loyal to him, and my agreement [to bless] him will last forever.
‘My love will I keep for him ever, my covenant with him shall stand fast.
29 I will establish a line of his descendants that will never end, various ones of his descendants will always be kings.
His line will I make everlasting, and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 But, if [some of] his descendants disobey my laws, and do not not behave like my commands say that they should,
‘If his children forsake my law, and walk not as I have ordained;
31 if they disregard my requirements and do not do the right things that I have told them to do,
if they profane my statutes, 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 sin with the rod, their iniquity with scourges.
33 But I will not stop faithfully loving [David], and I will always do what I promised him.
But my love will I not take from him, nor will I belie my faithfulness.
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 profane my covenant by changing the word that has passed my lips.
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.
Once have I solemnly sworn and I would not lie to David,
36 [I promised that] the line of kings descended from him will go on forever; it will last as long as the sun [shines].
‘that his line should endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me,
37 That line will (be as permanent/last as long) as the moon that is always watching everything from the sky.
firm as the moon which for ever and ever is fixed in the sky.’ (Selah)
38 But [Yahweh], now you have rejected [DOU] David! You are very angry with the king whom you appointed.
But you have cast off in contempt, and been furious with your anointed.
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 spurned the covenant with your servant, and his sacred crown dashed to the ground.
40 You have torn down the walls [that protect] his [city], and allowed all his forts to become ruins.
You have broken down all his walls, and laid his bulwarks in ruins.
41 All those who pass by plunder/steal his possessions; his neighbors (laugh at/ridicule) him.
All who pass on their way despoil him, the scorn of his neighbours is he now.
42 You have enabled his enemies to defeat him; you have made them all happy.
You have given his foes the victory, and made all his enemies glad.
43 You have caused his sword to become useless, and you have not helped him in his battles.
You have turned back his sword from the foe, you did not lift him up in the battle.
44 You have caused his splendor to end (OR, You have taken away his power by knocking his throne to the ground.
The sceptre you took from his hand, and his throne you did hurl 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 shortened the days of his youth, and covered him with shame. (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 you forever? How long are the fires of your wrath to burn?
47 Do not forget that life is very short; have you created all us people in vain?
Remember, Lord, the shortness of life how fleeting you made all people.
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)
Who can live without seeing death? Who can rescue their life from the clutch of Sheol? (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, Lord, is your kindness of old, which you in your faithfulness swore to David?
50 Yahweh, do not forget that people insult me! (Heathen people/People who do not know you) curse me!
Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, how I bear in my heart the scorn of all nations
51 Yahweh, your enemies insult your chosen king! They insult/ridicule him wherever he goes.
The scorn which your enemies hurl, O Lord, which they hurl at the footsteps of your anointed.
52 I hope/desire that Yahweh will be praised forever! Amen! May it be so!
Blest be the Lord, for ever and ever. Amen and Amen.
