Psalms 89:43-52

89:43 You turn back ¹  his sword from the adversary, ² 

and have not sustained him in battle. ³ 

89:44 You have brought to an end his splendor, ⁴ 

and have knocked ⁵  his throne to the ground.

89:45 You have cut short his youth, ⁶ 

and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

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

Will you remain hidden forever? ⁷ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan! ⁸ 

Why do you make all people so mortal? ⁹ 

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

or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. ¹⁰  (Selah)

89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, ¹¹  O Lord, ¹² 

the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? ¹³ 

89:50 Take note, O Lord, ¹⁴  of the way your servants are taunted, ¹⁵ 

and of how I must bear so many insults from people! ¹⁶ 

89:51 Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults;

they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps. ¹⁷ 

89:52 ¹⁸ The Lord deserves praise ¹⁹  forevermore!

We agree! We agree! ²⁰ 

[89:43]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “and you have not caused him to stand in the battle.”

[89:44]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb מָגַר (magar) occurs only here and perhaps in Ezek 21:17.

[89:45]  ⁶ tn Heb “the days of his youth” (see as well Job 33:25).

[89:46]  ⁷ tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”

[89:47]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.

[89:49]  ¹² tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:49]  ¹³ tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”

[89:50]  ¹⁴ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:50]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “remember, O Lord, the taunt against your servants.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the singular here, “your servant” (that is, the psalmist).

[89:50]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my lifting up in my arms [or “against my chest”] all of the many, peoples.” The term רַבִּים (rabbim, “many”) makes no apparent sense here. For this reason some emend the text to רִבֵי (rivey, “attacks by”), a defectively written plural construct form of רִיב (riv, “dispute; quarrel”).

[89:51]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[by] which your enemies, O Lord, taunt, [by] which they taunt [at] the heels of your anointed one.”

[89:52]  ¹⁸ sn The final verse of Ps 89, v. 52, is a conclusion to this third “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and fourth “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 106:48, respectively).

[89:52]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.

[89:52]  ²⁰ tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God; thus it has been translated “We agree! We agree!”