Logos Bible Study

Psalm 89:26–37

The NET BibleOther versions

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89:26He will call out to me,

‘You are my father,44 my God, and the protector who delivers me.’45

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

the most exalted of the earth’s kings.

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

and my covenant with him is secure.47

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

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

89:30If his sons reject my law

and disobey my regulations,

89:31if they break50 my rules

and do not keep my commandments,

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

their sin by inflicting them with bruises.52

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

nor be unfaithful to my promise.54

89:34I will not break55 my covenant

or go back on what I promised.56

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

I will never deceive57 David.

89:36His dynasty will last forever.58

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

89:37it will remain stable, like the moon,60

his throne will endure like the skies.”61

(Selah)

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Footnotes

  1. 44 You are my father. The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” 90 (1970): 184–203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.
  2. 45 Heb “the rocky summit of my deliverance.”
  3. 46 The firstborn son typically had special status and received special privileges.
  4. 47 Heb “forever I will keep for him my loyal love and will make my covenant secure for him.”
  5. 48 Heb “and I will set in place forever his offspring.”
  6. 49 Heb “and his throne like the days of the heavens.”
  7. 50 Or “desecrate.”
  8. 51 Heb “I will punish with a club their rebellion.” 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).
  9. 52 Heb “with blows their sin.”
  10. 53 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.
  11. 54 Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”
  12. 55 Or “desecrate.”
  13. 56 Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”
  14. 57 Or “lie to.”
  15. 58 Heb “his offspring forever will be.”
  16. 59 Heb “and his throne like the sun before me.”
  17. 60 Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”
  18. 61 Heb “and a witness in the sky, secure.” Scholars have offered a variety of opinions as to the identity of the “witness” referred to here, none of which is very convincing. It is preferable to join וְעֵד (vé’ed) to עוֹלָם (’olam) in the preceding line and translate the commonly attested phrase עוֹלָם וְעֵד (“forever”). In this case one may translate the second line, “[it] will be secure like the skies.” Another option (the one reflected in the present translation) is to take עד as a rare noun meaning “throne” or “dais.” This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example, 16 vi 22–23, where ksi (= כִּסֵּא, kisse’, “throne”) and ’d (= עד, “dais”) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending בַּשַּׁחַק (bashakhaq, “in the heavens”) to כַּשַׁחַק (kashakhaq, “like the heavens”)—bet/kaf (ך/ב) confusion is widely attested—one can then read “[his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/stable.” Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens, while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens (שְׁחָקִים, shékhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, “skies”) which frequently appears in parallelism to שְׁחָקִים.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

And I will make him the firstborn,

the highest of the kings of the earth.

My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,

and my covenant will stand firm for him.

I will establish his offspring forever

and his throne as the days of the heavens.

If his children forsake my law

and do not walk according to my rules,

if they violate my statutes

and do not keep my commandments,

then I will punish their transgression with the rod

and their iniquity with stripes,

but I will not remove from him my steadfast love

or be false to my faithfulness.

I will not violate my covenant

or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;

I will not lie to David.

His offspring shall endure forever,

his throne as long as the sun before me.

Like the moon it shall be established forever,

a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, the Rock my Savior.’

And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,

the most exalted of the kings of the earth.

I will maintain my love to him forever,

and my covenant with him will never fail.

I will establish his line forever,

his throne as long as the heavens endure.

“If his sons forsake my law

and do not follow my statutes,

if they violate my decrees

and fail to keep my commands,

I will punish their sin with the rod,

their iniquity with flogging;

but I will not take my love from him,

nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.

I will not violate my covenant

or alter what my lips have uttered.

Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—

and I will not lie to David—

that his line will continue forever

and his throne endure before me like the sun;

it will be established forever like the moon,

the faithful witness in the sky.”

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

He will call to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, the rock of my salvation.’

I will also make him my firstborn,

greatest of the kings of the earth.

I will always preserve my faithful love for him,

and my covenant with him will endure.

I will establish his line forever,

his throne as long as heaven lasts.

If his sons abandon my instruction

and do not live by my ordinances,

if they dishonor my statutes

and do not keep my commands,

then I will call their rebellion

to account with the rod,

their iniquity with blows.

But I will not withdraw

my faithful love from him

or betray my faithfulness.

I will not violate my covenant

or change what my lips have said.

Once and for all

I have sworn an oath by my holiness;

I will not lie to David.

His offspring will continue forever,

his throne like the sun before me,

like the moon, established forever,

a faithful witness in the sky.”

Selah

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

I will make him my firstborn son,

the mightiest king on earth.

I will love him and be kind to him forever;

my covenant with him will never end.

I will preserve an heir for him;

his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.

But if his descendants forsake my instructions

and fail to obey my regulations,

if they do not obey my decrees

and fail to keep my commands,

then I will punish their sin with the rod,

and their disobedience with beating.

But I will never stop loving him

nor fail to keep my promise to him.

No, I will not break my covenant;

I will not take back a single word I said.

I have sworn an oath to David,

and in my holiness I cannot lie:

His dynasty will go on forever;

his kingdom will endure as the sun.

It will be as eternal as the moon,

my faithful witness in the sky!”

Interlude

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the rock of my salvation.’

I will also make him the firstborn,

the highest of the kings of the earth.

Forever I will keep my loyal love for him,

and my covenant will be reliable for him.

I will also establish his offspring forever,

and his throne as the days of the heavens.

If his sons forsake my law

and do not walk in my judgments,

if they defile my statutes

and do not keep my commandments,

then I will punish their transgression with a rod,

and their guilt with wounds.

But I will not break off my loyal love from him,

and I will not be false against my faithfulness.

I will not defile my covenant,

or alter what proceeded from my lips.

Once I have sworn by my holiness,

‘I will surely not lie to David,

His offspring will endure forever,

and his throne as the sun before me.

Like the moon it will be steadfast forever,

and like an enduring witness in the sky.’ ” Selah

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father,

My God, and the rock of my salvation.

Also I will make him my firstborn,

Higher than the kings of the earth.

My mercy will I keep for him for evermore,

And my covenant shall stand fast with him.

His seed also will I make to endure for ever,

And his throne as the days of heaven.

If his children forsake my law,

And walk not in my judgments;

If they break my statutes,

And keep not my commandments;

Then will I visit their transgression with the rod,

And their iniquity with stripes.

Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him,

Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

My covenant will I not break,

Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Once have I sworn by my holiness

That I will not lie unto David.

His seed shall endure for ever,

And his throne as the sun before me.

It shall be established for ever as the moon,

And as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

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