Psalms 89:19

Context

89:19 Then you¹ spoke through a vision to your faithful followers² and said:

“I have energized a warrior;³

I have raised up a young man⁴ from the people.

Psalms 89:26-29

Context

89:26 He will call out to me,

‘You are my father,⁵ my God, and the protector who delivers me.’⁶

89:27 I will appoint him to be my firstborn son,⁷

the most exalted of the earth’s kings.

89:28 I will always extend my loyal love to him,

and my covenant with him is secure.⁸

89:29 I will give him an eternal dynasty,⁹

and make his throne as enduring as the skies above.¹⁰

[89:19] ¹tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is addressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the announcement of vv. 3-4.

[89:19] ²tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faithful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Nathan’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).

[89:19] ³tn Heb “I have placed help upon a warrior.”

[89:19] ⁴tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”

[89:26] ⁵sn You are my father. The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[89:26] ⁶tn Heb “the rocky summit of my deliverance.”

[89:27] ⁹sn The firstborn son typically had special status and received special privileges.

[89:28] ¹³tn Heb “forever I will keep for him my loyal love and will make my covenant secure for him.”

[89:29] ¹⁷tn Heb “and I will set in place forever his offspring.”

[89:29] ¹⁸tn Heb “and his throne like the days of the heavens.”