89:1 *[A maskil** of Ethan the Ezrahite.] I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. / *In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53. / **Title: Probably a literary or musical term
89:2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
89:3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant,
89:4 ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’”* / *The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
89:5 The heavens praise your wonders, Lord, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
89:6 For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?
89:7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.
89:8 Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
89:9 You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.
89:10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
89:11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.
89:12 You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
89:13 Your arm is endowed with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.
89:15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
89:16 They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness.
89:17 For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.* / *Horn here symbolizes strong one.
89:18 Indeed, our shield* belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel. / *Or sovereign
89:19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: “I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have raised up a young man from among the people.
89:20 I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
89:21 My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.
89:22 The enemy will not get the better of him; the wicked will not oppress him.
89:23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries.
89:24 My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn* will be exalted. / *Horn here symbolizes strength.
89:25 I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.
89:26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’
89:27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
89:28 I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail.
89:29 I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
89:30 “If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes,
89:31 if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
89:32 I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;
89:33 but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
89:34 I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.
89:35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness - and I will not lie to David -
89:36 that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun;
89:37 it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.”
89:38 But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one.
89:39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust.
89:40 You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins.
89:41 All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
89:42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice.
89:43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle.
89:44 You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground.
89:45 You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
89:46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
89:47 Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all humanity!
89:48 Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave?
89:49 Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
89:50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has* been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, / *Or your servants have
89:51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.
89:52 Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.