Psalms 132:11-18

132:11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; ¹ 

he will not go back on his word. ² 

He said, ³  “I will place one of your descendants ⁴  on your throne.

132:12 If your sons keep my covenant

and the rules I teach them,

their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”

132:13 Certainly ⁵  the Lord has chosen Zion;

he decided to make it his home. ⁶ 

132:14 He said, ⁷  “This will be my resting place forever;

I will live here, for I have chosen it. ⁸ 

132:15 I will abundantly supply what she needs; ⁹ 

I will give her poor all the food they need. ¹⁰ 

132:16 I will protect her priests, ¹¹ 

and her godly people will shout exuberantly. ¹² 

132:17 There I will make David strong; ¹³ 

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ¹⁴ 

132:18 I will humiliate his enemies, ¹⁵ 

and his crown will shine.

[132:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord swore an oath to David [in] truth.”

[132:11]  ² tn Heb “he will not turn back from it.”

[132:11]  ³ tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “the fruit of your body.”

[132:13]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[132:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “he desired it for his dwelling place.”

[132:14]  ⁷ tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “for I desired it.”

[132:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will greatly bless her provision.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.

[132:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “her poor I will satisfy [with] food.”

[132:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and her priests I will clothe [with] deliverance.”

[132:16]  ¹² tn Heb “[with] shouting they will shout.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.

[132:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.

[132:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).

[132:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his enemies I will clothe [with] shame.”