Psalms 89:29
1020
89:29 I will give him an eternal dynasty,
and make his throne as enduring as the
skies above.
89:30 If his sons reject my law
and disobey my regulations,
89:31 if they break my rules
and do not keep my commandments,
89:32 I will punish their rebellion by beat-
ing them with a club,
their sin by inflicting them with bruises.
89:33 But I will not remove my loyal love
from him,
nor be unfaithful to my promise.
89:34 I will not break my covenant
or go back on what I promised.
89:35 Once and for all I have vowed by
my own holiness,
I will never deceive10 David.
89:36 His dynasty will last forever.11
His throne will endure before me, like the
sun,12
89:37 it will remain stable, like the moon,13
his throne will endure like the skies.14
(Selah)
89:38 But you have spurned15 and rejected
him;
tn Heb and I will set in place forever his offspring.
tn Heb and his throne like the days of the heavens.
tn Or desecrate.
tn Heb I will punish with a club their rebellion.
sn Despite the harsh image of beatingwith a club, the
language reflects a father-son relationship (see v. 30; 2 Sam
7:14). According to Proverbs, a ( shevet, club) was some-
times utilized to administer corporal punishment to rebellious
children (see Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15).
tn Heb with blows their sin.
tn Heb break; make ineffectual. Some prefer to
emend ( afir; the Hiphil of , parar, to break) to
(asir; the Hiphil of , sur, to turn aside), a verb that ap-
pears in 2 Sam 7:15.
tn Heb and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.
tn Or desecrate.
tn Heb and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.
10tn Or lie to.
11tn Heb his offspring forever will be.
12tn Heb and his throne like the sun before me.
13tn Heb like the moon it will be established forever.
14tn 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 prefer-
able to join ( ved) to ( olam) in the preceding line and
translate the commonly attested phrase ( forever). In
this case one may translate the second line, [it] will be secure
like the skies. Another option (the one reflected in the pres-
ent translation) is to take as a rare noun meaning throne
or dais. This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example,
CTA 16 vi 22-23, where ksi (= , kisse, throne) and d (=
, dais) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see
G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending
( bashakhaq, in the heavens) to ( kashakhaq, like dition.
the heavens) bet/kaf (/ )confusion is widely attested
one can then read [his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/sta-
ble. Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens,
while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens
( , shkhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze
mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term ( shamayim, skies)
which frequently appears in parallelism to . mem [ ]is not the preposition, but a nominal prefix).
15tn The Hebrew construction (conjunction + pronoun, fol-
lowed by the verb) draws attention to the contrast between
what follows and what precedes.

you are angry with your chosen king.16
89:39 You have repudiated17 your cov-
enant with your servant;18
you have thrown his crown to the
ground.19
89:40 You have broken down all his20
walls;
you have made his strongholds a heap of
ruins.
89:41 All who pass by21 have robbed him;
he has become an object of disdain to his
neighbors.
89:42 You have allowed his adversaries to
be victorious,22
and all his enemies to rejoice.
89:43 You turn back23 his sword from the
adversary,24
and have not sustained him in battle.25
89:44 You have brought to an end his
splendor,26
and have knocked27 his throne to the
ground.
89:45 You have cut short his youth,28
and have covered him with shame. (Se-
lah)
89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?
16tn Heb your anointed one. The Hebrew phrase
(mshikhekha, your anointed one) refers here to the Davidic
king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 84:9; 132:10, 17).
17tn The Hebrew verb appears only here and in Lam 2:7.
18tn Heb the covenant of your servant.
19tn Heb you dishonor [or desecrate] on the ground his
crown.
20tn The king here represents the land and cities over
which he rules.
21tn Heb all the passersby on the road.
22tn Heb you have lifted up the right hand of his adversar-
ies. The idiom the right hand is lifted up refers to victorious
military deeds (see Pss 89:13; 118:16).
23tn The perfect verbal form predominates in vv. 38-45.
The use of the imperfect in this one instance may be for rhe-
torical effect. The psalmist briefly lapses into dramatic mode,
describing the kings military defeat as if it were happening
before his very eyes.
24tc Heb you turn back, rocky summit, his sword. The He-
brew term ( tsur, rocky summit) makes no sense here,
unless it is a divine title understood as vocative, you turn
back, O Rocky Summit, his sword. Some emend the form
to ( tsor, flint) on the basis of Josh 5:2, which uses the
phrase ( kharvot tsurim, flint knives). The noun
(tsor, flint) can then be taken as flint-like edge, indicating
the sharpness of the sword. Others emend the form to
(akhor, backward) or to ( mitsar, from the adversary).
The present translation reflects the latter, assuming an origi-
nal reading ( tashiv mitsar kharbo), which was
corrupted to ( tashiv tsar kharbo) by virtual hap-
lography (confusion of bet/mem is well-attested) with ( tsar,
adversary) then being misinterpreted as in the later tra-
25tn Heb and you have not caused him to stand in the
battle.
26tc The Hebrew text appears to read, you have brought
to an end from his splendor, but the form ( mittharo)
should be slightly emended (the daghesh should be removed
from the tet [ )]and read simply his splendor (the initial
27tn The Hebrew verb ( magar) occurs only here and
perhaps in Ezek 21:17.
28tn Heb the days of his youth (see as well Job 33:25).