Mazmur 89:1-2

Psalm 89 ¹ 

A well-written song ²  by Ethan the Ezrachite.

89:1 I will sing continually ³  about the Lord’s faithful deeds;

to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness. ⁴ 

89:2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established; ⁵ 

in the skies you set up your faithfulness.” ⁶ 

Mazmur 89:5

89:5 O Lord, the heavens ⁷  praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ⁸ 

Mazmur 89:8

89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! ⁹ 

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Mazmur 89:24

89:24 He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love, ¹⁰ 

and by my name he will win victories. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 89:33

89:33 But I will not remove ¹²  my loyal love from him,

nor be unfaithful to my promise. ¹³ 

Mazmur 89:49

89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, ¹⁴  O Lord, ¹⁵ 

the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? ¹⁶ 

[89:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 89. The psalmist praises God as the sovereign creator of the world. He recalls God’s covenant with David, but then laments that the promises of the covenant remain unrealized. The covenant promised the Davidic king military victories, but the king has now been subjected to humiliating defeat.

[89:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 88.

[89:1]  ³ tn Or “forever.”

[89:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “to a generation and a generation I will make known your faithfulness with my mouth.”

[89:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “built.”

[89:2]  ⁶ 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).

[89:5]  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.

[89:5]  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).

[89:8]  ⁹ tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the Lord as enthroned in the midst of the angelic hosts of heaven.

[89:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and my faithfulness and my loyal love [will be] with him.”

[89:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and by my name his horn will be 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; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[89:33]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”

[89:49]  ¹⁴ sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.

[89:49]  ¹⁵ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:49]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”