Psalms 89:2-5

89:2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established; ¹ 

in the skies you set up your faithfulness.” ² 

89:3 The Lord said, ³ 

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:

89:4 ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty ⁴ 

and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” ⁵  (Selah)

89:5 O Lord, the heavens ⁶  praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ⁷ 

Psalms 89:28

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

and my covenant with him is secure. ⁸ 

Psalms 89:33

89:33 But I will not remove ⁹  my loyal love from him,

nor be unfaithful to my promise. ¹⁰ 

[89:2]  ¹ tn Heb “built.”

[89:2]  ² sn You set up your faithfulness. This may allude to the Lord’s heavenly throne, which symbolizes his just rule and from which the Lord decrees his unconditional promises (see vv. 8, 14).

[89:3]  ³ tn The words “the Lord said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. It is clear that the words of vv. 3-4 are spoken by the Lord, in contrast to vv. 1-2, which are spoken by the psalmist.

[89:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “forever I will establish your offspring.”

[89:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I will build to a generation and a generation your throne.”

[89:5]  ⁶ tn As the following context makes clear, the personified “heavens” here stand by metonymy for the angelic beings that surround God’s heavenly throne.

[89:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the assembly of the holy ones.” The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3), but here it refers to God’s heavenly assembly and the angels that surround his throne (see vv. 6-7).

[89:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “forever I will keep for him my loyal love and will make my covenant secure for him.”

[89:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “break”; “make ineffectual.” Some prefer to emend אָפִיר (’afir; the Hiphil of פָּרַר, parar, “to break”) to אָסִיר (’asir; the Hiphil of סוּר, sur, “to turn aside”), a verb that appears in 2 Sam 7:15.

[89:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”