Psalms 89:35-49

89:35 Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness,

I will never deceive ¹  David.

89:36 His dynasty will last forever. ² 

His throne will endure before me, like the sun, ³ 

89:37 it will remain stable, like the moon, ⁴ 

his throne will endure like the skies.” ⁵  (Selah)

89:38 But you have spurned ⁶  and rejected him;

you are angry with your chosen king. ⁷ 

89:39 You have repudiated ⁸  your covenant with your servant; ⁹ 

you have thrown his crown to the ground. ¹⁰ 

89:40 You have broken down all his ¹¹  walls;

you have made his strongholds a heap of ruins.

89:41 All who pass by ¹²  have robbed him;

he has become an object of disdain to his neighbors.

89:42 You have allowed his adversaries to be victorious, ¹³ 

and all his enemies to rejoice.

89:43 You turn back ¹⁴  his sword from the adversary, ¹⁵ 

and have not sustained him in battle. ¹⁶ 

89:44 You have brought to an end his splendor, ¹⁷ 

and have knocked ¹⁸  his throne to the ground.

89:45 You have cut short his youth, ¹⁹ 

and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ²⁰ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan! ²¹ 

Why do you make all people so mortal? ²² 

89:48 No man can live on without experiencing death,

or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. ²³  (Selah)

89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, ²⁴  O Lord, ²⁵ 

the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? ²⁶ 

[89:35]  ¹ tn Or “lie to.”

[89:36]  ² tn Heb “his offspring forever will be.”

[89:36]  ³ tn Heb “and his throne like the sun before me.”

[89:37]  ⁴ tn Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”

[89:37]  ⁵ tn Heb “and a witness in the sky, secure.” Scholars have offered a variety of opinions as to the identity of the “witness” referred to here, none of which is very convincing. It is preferable to join וְעֵד (vÿ’ed) to עוֹלָם (’olam) in the preceding line and translate the commonly attested phrase עוֹלָם וְעֵד (“forever”). In this case one may translate the second line, “[it] will be secure like the skies.” Another option (the one reflected in the present translation) is to take עד as a rare noun meaning “throne” or “dais.” This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example, CTA 16 vi 22-23, where ksi (= כִּסֵּא, kisse’, “throne”) and ’d (= עד, “dais”) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending בַּשַּׁחַק (bashakhaq, “in the heavens”) to כַּשַׁחַק (kashakhaq, “like the heavens”) – bet/kaf (כ/ב) confusion is widely attested – one can then read “[his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/stable.” Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens, while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens (שְׁחָקִים, shÿkhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, “skies”) which frequently appears in parallelism to שְׁחָקִים.

[89:38]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew construction (conjunction + pronoun, followed by the verb) draws attention to the contrast between what follows and what precedes.

[89:38]  ⁷ tn Heb “your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (mÿshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 84:9; 132:10, 17).

[89:39]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew verb appears only here and in Lam 2:7.

[89:39]  ⁹ tn Heb “the covenant of your servant.”

[89:39]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you dishonor [or “desecrate”] on the ground his crown.”

[89:40]  ¹¹ tn The king here represents the land and cities over which he rules.

[89:41]  ¹² tn Heb “all the passersby on the road.”

[89:42]  ¹³ tn Heb “you have lifted up the right hand of his adversaries.” The idiom “the right hand is lifted up” refers to victorious military deeds (see Pss 89:13; 118:16).

[89:43]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verbal form predominates in vv. 38-45. The use of the imperfect in this one instance may be for rhetorical effect. The psalmist briefly lapses into dramatic mode, describing the king’s military defeat as if it were happening before his very eyes.

[89:43]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “you turn back, rocky summit, his sword.” The Hebrew term צוּר (tsur, “rocky summit”) makes no sense here, unless it is a divine title understood as vocative, “you turn back, O Rocky Summit, his sword.” Some emend the form to צֹר (tsor, “flint”) on the basis of Josh 5:2, which uses the phrase חַרְבוֹת צֻרִים (kharvot tsurim, “flint knives”). The noun צֹר (tsor, “flint”) can then be taken as “flint-like edge,” indicating the sharpness of the sword. Others emend the form to אָחוֹר (’akhor, “backward”) or to מִצַּר (mitsar, “from the adversary”). The present translation reflects the latter, assuming an original reading תָּשִׁיב מִצָּר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv mitsar kharbo), which was corrupted to תָּשִׁיב צָר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv tsar kharbo) by virtual haplography (confusion of bet/mem is well-attested) with צָר (tsar, “adversary”) then being misinterpreted as צוּר in the later tradition.

[89:43]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and you have not caused him to stand in the battle.”

[89:44]  ¹⁷ tc The Hebrew text appears to read, “you have brought to an end from his splendor,” but the form מִטְּהָרוֹ (mittÿharo) should be slightly emended (the daghesh should be removed from the tet [ת]) and read simply “his splendor” (the initial mem [מ] is not the preposition, but a nominal prefix).

[89:44]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew verb מָגַר (magar) occurs only here and perhaps in Ezek 21:17.

[89:45]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the days of his youth” (see as well Job 33:25).

[89:46]  ²⁰ tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”

[89:47]  ²¹ tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ’aniy, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).

[89:47]  ²² tn Heb “For what emptiness do you create all the sons of mankind?” In this context the term שָׁוְא (shavah) refers to mankind’s mortal nature and the brevity of life (see vv. 45, 48).

[89:48]  ²³ tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[89:49]  ²⁴ sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.

[89:49]  ²⁵ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:49]  ²⁶ tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”