Discovery BoxPsalms 89:5-8
Context89:5 O Lord, the heavens 1 praise your amazing deeds,
as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. 2
89:6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, 3
89:7 a God who is honored 4 in the great angelic assembly, 5
and more awesome than 6 all who surround him?
Who is strong like you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
[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).
[89:6] 3 tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (vÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the
[89:7] 5 tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”
[89:7] 6 tn Or perhaps “feared by.”
[89:8] 7 tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the
(NT only) to listen to the NET Bible 
