Psalms 89:28

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

and my covenant with him is secure. ¹ 

Psalms 89:34

89:34 I will not break ²  my covenant

or go back on what I promised. ³ 

Psalms 89:39

89:39 You have repudiated ⁴  your covenant with your servant; ⁵ 

you have thrown his crown to the ground. ⁶ 

Psalms 89:2

89:2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established; ⁷ 

in the skies you set up your faithfulness.” ⁸ 

Psalms 7:10-16

7:10 The Exalted God is my shield, ⁹ 

the one who delivers the morally upright. ¹⁰ 

7:11 God is a just judge;

he is angry throughout the day. ¹¹ 

7:12 If a person ¹²  does not repent, God sharpens his sword ¹³ 

and prepares to shoot his bow. ¹⁴ 

7:13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; ¹⁵ 

he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows. ¹⁶ 

7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,

who conceives destructive plans,

and gives birth to harmful lies – ¹⁷ 

7:15 he digs a pit ¹⁸ 

and then falls into the hole he has made. ¹⁹ 

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ²⁰ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ²¹ 

Psalms 23:5

23:5 You prepare a feast before me ²² 

in plain sight of my enemies.

You refresh ²³  my head with oil;

my cup is completely full. ²⁴ 

Psalms 23:1

Psalm 23 ²⁵ 

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, ²⁶ 

I lack nothing. ²⁷ 

Psalms 8:1

Psalm 8 ²⁸ 

For the music director, according to the gittith style; ²⁹  a psalm of David.

8:1 O Lord, our Lord, ³⁰ 

how magnificent ³¹  is your reputation ³²  throughout the earth!

You reveal your majesty in the heavens above! ³³ 

Isaiah 55:3

55:3 Pay attention and come to me!

Listen, so you can live! ³⁴ 

Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to ³⁵  you,

just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. ³⁶ 

Jeremiah 30:9

30:9 But they will be subject ³⁷  to the Lord their God

and to the Davidic ruler whom I will raise up as king over them. ³⁸ 

Jeremiah 33:20-21

33:20 “I, Lord, make the following promise: ³⁹  ‘I have made a covenant with the day ⁴⁰  and with the night that they will always come at their proper times. Only if you people ⁴¹  could break that covenant 33:21 could my covenant with my servant David and my covenant with the Levites ever be broken. So David will by all means always have a descendant to occupy his throne as king and the Levites will by all means always have priests who will minister before me. ⁴² 

Ezekiel 34:23-24

34:23 I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them – namely, my servant David. ⁴³  He will feed them and will be their shepherd. 34:24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince ⁴⁴  among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!

Hosea 3:5

3:5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. ⁴⁵  Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings ⁴⁶  in the future. ⁴⁷ 

Luke 1:32-33

1:32 He ⁴⁸  will be great, ⁴⁹  and will be called the Son of the Most High, ⁵⁰  and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father ⁵¹  David. 1:33 He ⁵²  will reign over the house of Jacob ⁵³  forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

[89:28]  ¹ tn Heb “forever I will keep for him my loyal love and will make my covenant secure for him.”

[89:34]  ² tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:34]  ³ tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”

[89:39]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb appears only here and in Lam 2:7.

[89:39]  ⁵ tn Heb “the covenant of your servant.”

[89:39]  ⁶ tn Heb “you dishonor [or “desecrate”] on the ground his crown.”

[89:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “built.”

[89:2]  ⁸ 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).

[7:10]  ⁹ tn Traditionally, “my shield is upon God” (cf. NASB). As in v. 8, עַל (’al) should be understood as a divine title, here compounded with “God” (cf. NIV, “God Most High”). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:45-46. The shield metaphor pictures God as a protector against deadly attacks.

[7:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[7:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “God (the divine name אֵל [’el] is used) is angry during all the day.” The verb זֹעֵם (zo’em) means “be indignant, be angry, curse.” Here God’s angry response to wrongdoing and injustice leads him to prepare to execute judgment as described in the following verses.

[7:12]  ¹² tn Heb “If he”; the referent (a person who is a sinner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The subject of the first verb is understood as the sinner who fails to repent of his ways and becomes the target of God’s judgment (vv. 9, 14-16).

[7:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “if he does not return, his sword he sharpens.” The referent (God) of the pronominal subject of the second verb (“sharpens”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his bow he treads and prepares it.” “Treading the bow” involved stepping on one end of it in order to string it and thus prepare it for battle.

[7:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and for him he prepares the weapons of death.”

[7:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his arrows into flaming [things] he makes.”

[7:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”

[7:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.

[7:15]  ¹⁹ tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.

[7:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[23:5]  ²² sn In v. 5 the metaphor switches. (It would be very odd for a sheep to have its head anointed and be served wine.) The background for the imagery is probably the royal banquet. Ancient Near Eastern texts describe such banquets in similar terms to those employed by the psalmist. (See M. L. Barre and J. S. Kselman, “New Exodus, Covenant, and Restoration in Psalm 23,” The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, 97-127.) The reality behind the imagery is the Lord’s favor. Through his blessings and protection he demonstrates to everyone, including dangerous enemies, that the psalmist has a special relationship with him.

[23:5]  ²³ tn The imperfect verbal form in v. 5a carries on the generalizing mood of vv. 1-4. However, in v. 5b the psalmist switches to a perfect (דִּשַּׁנְתָּ, dishanta), which may have a generalizing force as well. But then again the perfect is conspicuous here and may be present perfect in sense, indicating that the divine host typically pours oil on his head prior to seating him at the banquet table. The verb דָשַׁן (dashan; the Piel is factitive) is often translated “anoint,” but this is misleading, for it might suggest a symbolic act of initiation into royal status. One would expect the verb מָשָׁח (mashan) in this case; דָשַׁן here describes an act of hospitality extended to guests and carries the nuance “refresh.” In Prov 15:30 it stands parallel to “make happy” and refers to the effect that good news has on the inner being of its recipient.

[23:5]  ²⁴ tn The rare noun רְַָויָה (rÿvayah) is derived from the well-attested verb רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated, drink one’s fill”). In this context, where it describes a cup, it must mean “filled up,” but not necessarily to overflowing.

[23:1]  ²⁵ sn Psalm 23. In vv. 1-4 the psalmist pictures the Lord as a shepherd who provides for his needs and protects him from danger. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and then extends and develops that metaphor, speaking as if he were a sheep. In vv. 5-6 the metaphor changes as the psalmist depicts a great royal banquet hosted by the Lord. The psalmist is a guest of honor and recipient of divine favor, who enjoys unlimited access to the divine palace and the divine presence.

[23:1]  ²⁶ sn The LORD is my shepherd. The opening metaphor suggests the psalmist is assuming the role of a sheep. In vv. 1b-4 the psalmist extends the metaphor and explains exactly how the LORD is like a shepherd to him. At the surface level the language can be understood in terms of a shepherd’s relationship to his sheep. The translation of vv. 1-4 reflects this level. But, of course, each statement also points to an underlying reality.

[23:1]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form is best understood as generalizing; the psalmist highlights his typical or ongoing experience as a result of having the LORD as his shepherd (habitual present use). The next verse explains more specifically what he means by this statement.

[8:1]  ²⁸ sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.

[8:1]  ²⁹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.

[8:1]  ³⁰ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

[8:1]  ³¹ tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”

[8:1]  ³² tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[8:1]  ³³ tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.

[55:3]  ³⁴ tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.

[55:3]  ³⁵ tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”

[55:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”

[30:9]  ³⁷ tn The word “subject” in this verse and “subjugate” are from the same root word in Hebrew. A deliberate contrast is drawn between the two powers that they will serve.

[30:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and to David their king whom I will raise up for them.”

[33:20]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord.” However, the Lord is speaking so the first person introduction has again been adopted. The content of the verse shows that it is a promise to David (vv. 21-22) and the Levites based on a contrary to fact condition (v. 20). See further the translator’s note at the end of the next verse for explanation of the English structure adopted here.

[33:20]  ⁴⁰ tn The word יוֹמָם (yomam) is normally an adverb meaning “daytime, by day, daily.” However, here and in v. 25 and in Jer 15:9 it means “day, daytime” (cf. BDB 401 s.v. יוֹמָם 1).

[33:20]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “you.” The pronoun is plural as in 32:36, 43; 33:10.

[33:21]  ⁴² tn The very complex and elliptical syntax of the original Hebrew of vv. 20-21 has been broken down to better conform with contemporary English style. The text reads somewhat literally (after the addition of a couple of phrases which have been left out by ellipsis): “Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night so that there is not to be daytime and night in their proper time then also my covenant can be broken with my servant David so that there is not to him a son reigning upon his throne [and also my covenant can be broken] with the Levites [so there are not] priests who minister to me.” The two phrases in brackets are elliptical, the first serving double duty for the prepositional phrase “with the Levites” as well as “with David” and the second serving double duty with the noun “priests” which parallels “a son.” The noun “priests” is not serving here as appositional because that phrase is always “the priests, the Levites,” never “the Levites, the priests.”

[34:23]  ⁴³ sn The messianic king is here called “David” (see Jer 30:9 and Hos 3:5, as well as Isa 11:1 and Mic 5:2) because he will fulfill the Davidic royal ideal depicted in the prophets and royal psalms (see Ps 2, 89).

[34:24]  ⁴⁴ sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).

[3:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “David their king”; cf. NCV “the king from David’s family”; TEV “a descendant of David their king”; NLT “David’s descendant, their king.”

[3:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “his goodness”; NLT “his good gifts.”

[3:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT “in the last days.”

[1:32]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:32]  ⁴⁹ sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.

[1:32]  ⁵⁰ sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[1:32]  ⁵¹ tn Or “ancestor.”

[1:33]  ⁵² tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. A new sentence is begun here in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek.

[1:33]  ⁵³ tn Or “over Israel.”