Psalms 89
1 [A Psalm] of instruction for Aetham the Israelite. I will sing of your mercies, O Lord, for ever: I will declare your truth with my mouth to all generations.
Yahweh, I will sing forever about the ways you faithfully love me; people not yet born will hear that you faithfully [do all that you have promised].
2 For you have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: your truth shall be established in the heavens.
I will tell people that you will faithfully love us forever, and that your being faithful [to do what you have promised] is as permanent as the sky.
3 I made a covenant with my chosen ones, I sware to David my servant.
Yahweh said, “I have made an agreement with David, whom I chose [to serve me]. I have made this solemn (agreement with/promise to) him:
4 I will establish your seed for ever, and build up your throne to all generations. (Pause)
‘I will enable various ones of your descendants to always be kings; the line of kings descended from you [MTY] will never end.’”
5 The heavens shall declare your wonders, O Lord; and your truth in the assembly of the saints.
Yahweh, I desire that all [those beings who are in] [MTY] heaven will praise you for the wonderful things that you do, and that all your holy angels will sing about how you faithfully [do what you promise].
6 For who in the heavens shall be compared to the Lord? and who shall be likened to the Lord amongst the sons of God?
There is no one [RHQ] in heaven who can be compared with you, Yahweh. There are no angels [RHQ] in heaven who are equal to you.
7 God is glorified in the council of the saints; great and terrible towards all that are round about him.
When your holy angels gather together, they declare that you must be revered; they say that you are more awesome than all the angels that surround your throne!
8 O Lord God of hosts, who is like to you? you are mighty, O Lord, and your truth is round about you.
O Yahweh, God Almighty, there is no one [RHQ] who is powerful like you are; your faithfully doing [all that you promise] is [like a cloak that] [MET] [always] surrounds you.
9 You rule the power of the sea; and you calm the tumult of its waves.
You rule over the powerful seas; when their waves rise up, you calm them.
10 You has brought down the proud as one that is slain; and with the arm of your power you has scattered your enemies.
You are the one who crushed [and killed the great sea monster named] Rahab. You [defeated and] scattered your enemies with your great power [MTY].
11 The heavens are your, and the earth is your: you have founded the world, and the fullness of it.
The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; and everything on the earth is yours, because you created it all.
12 You have created the north and the west: Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in your name.
You created [everything from] the north to the south. Tabor [Mountain] and Hermon [Mountain] joyfully praise you [MTY].
13 Your is the mighty arm: let your hand be strengthened, let your right hand be exalted.
(You/Your arms) are very powerful; (you/your hands) are extremely strong.
14 Justice and judgement are the establishment of your throne: mercy and truth shall go before your face.
(Your rule [MTY] over us is based on/As you rule over us, you are always) treating people fairly and justly, and on/are always faithfully loving us and doing [what you promised].
15 Blessed is the people that knows the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance.
Yahweh, happy are the people who worship you with joyful shouts, who live knowing that you are always watching over them.
16 And in your name shall they rejoice all the day: and in your righteousness shall they be exalted.
Every day, throughout the day, they rejoice in what you [MTY] [have done], and they praise you for being very good [to them].
17 For you are the boast of their strength; and in your good pleasure shall our horn be exalted,
You give us your glorious strength; because you act in our favor, we defeat [MET] [our enemies].
18 for [our] help is of the Lord; and of the Holy One of Israel, our king.
Yahweh, you gave us [the one who] protects us [MET]; you, the holy God whom we Israelis worship, chose a king for us.
19 Then you spoke in vision to your children, and said, I have laid help on a mighty one; I have exalted one chosen out of my people.
Long ago you spoke in a vision to one of your servants/prophets, saying, “I have helped a famous soldier; I chose him from among all the people to be a king.
20 I have found David my servant; I have anointed him by [my] holy mercy.
That man is David, the one who will serve me [faithfully], and I anointed him with sacred olive oil [to make him king].
21 For my hand shall support him; and mine arm shall strengthen him.
I [MTY] will always strengthen him; with my power [MTY] I will make him strong.
22 The enemy shall have no advantage against him; and the son of transgression shall not hurt him again.
His enemies will never find ways to defeat him, and wicked people will never defeat him.
23 And I will hew down his foes before him, and put to flight those that hate him.
I will crush his enemies in front of him and get rid of those who hate him.
24 But my truth and my mercy shall be with him; and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
I will always be loyal to him and faithfully love him and enable him to defeat [MET] [his enemies].
25 And I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
I will cause (his kingdom/the area that he rules) to include all the land from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Euphrates] River.
26 He shall call upon me, [saying], You are my Father, my God, and the helper of my salvation.
He will say to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the one who protects [MET] and saves me.’
27 And I will make him [my] firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
I will give him [the rights/privileges that a man’s] firstborn son has [MET]; he will be the greatest king on the earth.
28 I will keep my mercy for him for ever, and my covenant [shall be] firm with him.
I will always be loyal to him, and my agreement [to bless] him will last forever.
29 And I will establish his seed for ever and ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
I will establish a line of his descendants that will never end, various ones of his descendants will always be kings.
30 If his children should forsake my law, and walk not in my judgements;
But, if [some of] his descendants disobey my laws, and do not not behave like my commands say that they should,
31 if they should profane my ordinances, and not keep my commandments;
if they disregard my requirements and do not do the right things that I have told them to do,
32 I will visit their transgressions with a rod, and their sins with scourges.
I will punish them severely [MTY] and cause them to suffer for doing wrong.
33 But my mercy I will not utterly remove from him, nor wrong my truth.
But I will not stop faithfully loving [David], and I will always do what I promised him.
34 Neither will I by any means profane my covenant; and I will not make void the things that proceed out of my lips.
I will not break the agreement that I made with him; I will not change even one word that I spoke [to him].
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie to David.
Once I made a solemn promise to David, and that will never change, and because I am God, I will never lie to David.
36 His see shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me;
[I promised that] the line of kings descended from him will go on forever; it will last as long as the sun [shines].
37 and as the moon [that is] established for ever, and as the faithful witness in heaven. (Pause)
That line will (be as permanent/last as long) as the moon that is always watching everything from the sky.
38 But you have cast off and set at nothing, you has rejected your anointed.
But [Yahweh], now you have rejected [DOU] David! You are very angry with the king whom you appointed.
39 You have overthrown the covenant of your servant; you has profaned his sanctuary, [casting it] to the ground.
[It seems that] you have broken the agreement that you made with your servant, [David]; it seems as though you [have signaled that he is no longer the king by] throwing his crown into the dust/dirt.
40 You have broken down all his hedges; you have made his strong holds a terror.
You have torn down the walls [that protect] his [city], and allowed all his forts to become ruins.
41 All that go by the way have spoiled him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours.
All those who pass by plunder/steal his possessions; his neighbors (laugh at/ridicule) him.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his enemies; you have made all his enemies to rejoice.
You have enabled his enemies to defeat him; you have made them all happy.
43 You have turned back the help of his sword, and have not helped him in the battle.
You have caused his sword to become useless, and you have not helped him in his battles.
44 You have deprived him of glory: you have broken down his throne to the ground.
You have caused his splendor to end (OR, You have taken away his power by knocking his throne to the ground.
45 You have shortened the days of his throne: you have poured shame upon him. (Pause)
You have caused him to look old when he is still young and caused him to be very shamed/disgraced.
46 How long, O Lord, will you turn away, for ever? shall your anger flame out as fire?
O Yahweh, how long [will this continue]? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like a fire?
47 Remember what my being is: for have you created all the sons of men in vain?
Do not forget that life is very short; have you created all us people in vain?
48 What man is there who shall live, and not see death? shall [any one] deliver his soul from the hand of Hades? (Pause) (Sheol h7585)
No one can [RHQ] keep on living and never die; (No one can [RHQ] avoid going/Everyone will go) to the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
49 Where are your ancient mercies, O Lord, which you sware to David in your truth?
Yahweh, you promised long ago that you would faithfully love us; why are you not doing that? You solemnly promised that to David!
50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of your servants, which I have borne in my bosom, [even the reproach] of many nations;
Yahweh, do not forget that people insult me! (Heathen people/People who do not know you) curse me!
51 wherewith your enemies have reviled, O Lord: wherewith they have reviled the recompense of your anointed.
Yahweh, your enemies insult your chosen king! They insult/ridicule him wherever he goes.
52 Blessed be the Lord for ever. So be it, so be it.
I hope/desire that Yahweh will be praised forever! Amen! May it be so!
