Psalms 89:5

89:5 O Lord, the heavens ¹  praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ² 

Psalms 89:8

89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! ³ 

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Psalms 89:33

89:33 But I will not remove ⁴  my loyal love from him,

nor be unfaithful to my promise. ⁵ 

Psalms 89:49

89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, ⁶  O Lord, ⁷ 

the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? ⁸ 

[89:5]  ¹ 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]  ² 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).

[89:8]  ³ tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the Lord as enthroned in the midst of the angelic hosts of heaven.

[89:33]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”

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

[89:49]  ⁷ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:49]  ⁸ tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”