Psalm 89:27–36

89:27 I will appoint him to be my firstborn son,46

the most exalted of the earth’s kings.

89:28 I will always extend my loyal love to him,

and my covenant with him is secure.47

89:29 I will give him an eternal dynasty,48

and make his throne as enduring as the skies above.49

89:30 If his sons reject my law

and disobey my regulations,

89:31 if they break50 my rules

and do not keep my commandments,

89:32 I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club,51

their sin by inflicting them with bruises.52

89:33 But I will not remove53 my loyal love from him,

nor be unfaithful to my promise.54

89:34 I will not break55 my covenant

or go back on what I promised.56

89:35 Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness,

I will never deceive57 David.

89:36 His dynasty will last forever.58

His throne will endure before me, like the sun,59

46	sn The firstborn son typically had special status and received special privileges.
47	tn Heb “forever I will keep for him my loyal love and will make my covenant secure for him.”
48	tn Heb “and I will set in place forever his offspring.”
49	tn Heb “and his throne like the days of the heavens.”
50	tn Or “desecrate.”
51	tn Heb “I will punish with a club their rebellion.” sn Despite the harsh image of beating … with a club, the language reflects a father-son relationship (see v. 30; 2 Sam 7:14). According to Proverbs, a שֵׁבֶט (shevet, “club”) was sometimes utilized to administer corporal punishment to rebellious children (see Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13–14; 29:15).
52	tn Heb “with blows their sin.”
53	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.
54	tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”
55	tn Or “desecrate.”
56	tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”
57	tn Or “lie to.”
58	tn Heb “his offspring forever will be.”
59	tn Heb “and his throne like the sun before me.”