Psalms 89:2-5

89:2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established; ¹ 

in the skies you set up your faithfulness.” ² 

89:3 The Lord said, ³ 

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:

89:4 ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty ⁴ 

and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” ⁵  (Selah)

89:5 O Lord, the heavens ⁶  praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ⁷ 

Psalms 89:16-19

89:16 They rejoice in your name all day long,

and are vindicated ⁸  by your justice.

89:17 For you give them splendor and strength. ⁹ 

By your favor we are victorious. ¹⁰ 

89:18 For our shield ¹¹  belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel. ¹² 

89:19 Then you ¹³  spoke through a vision to your faithful followers ¹⁴  and said:

“I have energized a warrior; ¹⁵ 

I have raised up a young man ¹⁶  from the people.

¹ tn Heb “built.”

² sn You set up your faithfulness. This may allude to the Lord’s heavenly throne, which symbolizes his just rule and from which the Lord decrees his unconditional promises (see vv. 8, 14).

³ tn The words “the Lord said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. It is clear that the words of vv. 3-4 are spoken by the Lord, in contrast to vv. 1-2, which are spoken by the psalmist.

⁵ tn Heb “forever I will establish your offspring.”

⁶ tn Heb “and I will build to a generation and a generation your throne.”

⁷ tn As the following context makes clear, the personified “heavens” here stand by metonymy for the angelic beings that surround God’s heavenly throne.

⁸ 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).

⁹ tn Heb “are lifted up.”

¹¹ tn Heb “for the splendor of their strength [is] you.”

¹² tn Heb “you lift up our horn,” or if one follows the marginal reading (Qere), “our horn is lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

¹³ tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “our king" here and with “your anointed one” in Ps 84:9.

¹⁴ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

¹⁵ tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is addressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the announcement of vv. 3-4.

¹⁶ tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faithful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Nathan’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).

¹⁷ tn Heb “I have placed help upon a warrior.”

¹⁸ tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”