Mazmur 9:4

9:4 For you defended my just cause; ¹ 

from your throne you pronounced a just decision. ² 

Mazmur 45:6-7

45:6 Your throne, ³  O God, is permanent. ⁴ 

The scepter ⁵  of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

45:7 You love ⁶  justice and hate evil. ⁷ 

For this reason God, your God ⁸  has anointed you ⁹ 

with the oil of joy, ¹⁰  elevating you above your companions. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 48:1

Psalm 48 ¹² 

A song, a psalm by the Korahites.

48:1 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise

in the city of our God, ¹³  his holy hill.

Mazmur 89:14

89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. ¹⁴ 

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 94:20

94:20 Cruel rulers ¹⁶  are not your allies,

those who make oppressive laws. ¹⁷ 

Ibrani 4:16

4:16 Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help. ¹⁸ 

Wahyu 20:11

The Great White Throne

20:11 Then ¹⁹  I saw a large ²⁰  white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven ²¹  fled ²²  from his presence, and no place was found for them.

[9:4]  ¹ tn Heb “for you accomplished my justice and my legal claim.”

[9:4]  ² tn Heb “you sat on a throne [as] one who judges [with] righteousness.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 4 probably allude to a recent victory (see vv. 5-7). Another option is to understand the verbs as describing what is typical (“you defend…you sit on a throne”).

[45:6]  ³ sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

[45:6]  ⁴ tn Or “forever and ever.”

[45:6]  sn O God. The king is clearly the addressee here, as in vv. 2-5 and 7-9. Rather than taking the statement at face value, many prefer to emend the text because the concept of deifying the earthly king is foreign to ancient Israelite thinking (cf. NEB “your throne is like God’s throne, eternal”). However, it is preferable to retain the text and take this statement as another instance of the royal hyperbole that permeates the royal psalms. Because the Davidic king is God’s vice-regent on earth, the psalmist addresses him as if he were God incarnate. God energizes the king for battle and accomplishes justice through him. A similar use of hyperbole appears in Isa 9:6, where the ideal Davidic king of the eschaton is given the title “Mighty God” (see the note on this phrase there). Ancient Near Eastern art and literature picture gods training kings for battle, bestowing special weapons, and intervening in battle. According to Egyptian propaganda, the Hittites described Rameses II as follows: “No man is he who is among us, It is Seth great-of-strength, Baal in person; Not deeds of man are these his doings, They are of one who is unique” (see Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:67). Ps 45:6 and Isa 9:6 probably envision a similar kind of response when friends and foes alike look at the Davidic king in full battle regalia. When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself.

[45:6]  ⁵ sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

[45:7]  ⁶ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ⁷ sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ⁸ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁹ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ¹⁰ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[45:7]  sn Verses 6-7 are quoted in Heb 1:8-9, where they are applied to Jesus.

[48:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 48. This so-called “Song of Zion” celebrates the greatness and glory of the Lord’s dwelling place, Jerusalem. His presence in the city elevates it above all others and assures its security.

[48:1]  ¹³ sn The city of our God is Jerusalem, which is also referred to here as “his holy hill,” that is, Zion (see v. 2, as well as Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; 87:1; Dan 9:16).

[89:14]  ¹⁴ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[89:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).

[94:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.

[94:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.

[4:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “for timely help.”

[20:11]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:11]  ²⁰ tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.

[20:11]  ²¹ tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.

[20:11]  ²² tn Or “vanished.”

[20:11]  sn The phrase the earth and the heaven fled from his presence can be understood (1) as visual imagery representing the fear of corruptible matter in the presence of God, but (2) it can also be understood more literally as the dissolution of the universe as we know it in preparation for the appearance of the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1).