1019
Psalms 89:28
your hand strong,
your right hand victorious.
89:14 Equity and justice are the founda-
tion of your throne.
Loyal love and faithfulness characterize
your rule.
89:15 How blessed are the people who
worship you!
O Lord, they experience your favor.
89:16 They rejoice in your name all day
long,
and are vindicated by your justice.
89:17 For you give them splendor and
strength.
By your favor we are victorious.
89:18 For our shield10 belongs to the
Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.11
89:19 Then you12 spoke through a vision
to your faithful followers13 and said:
“I have energized a warrior;14
I have raised up a young man15 from the
people.
89:20 I have discovered David, my servant.
With my holy oil I have anointed him as
 sn The Lord’s arm, hand, and right hand all symbolize his
activities, especially his exploits in war.
 tn Heb “is lifted up.” The idiom “the right hand is lift-
ed up” refers to victorious military deeds (see Pss 89:42;
118:16).
 sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.
 tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean
“confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps
95:2).
 tn Heb “who know the shout.” “Shout” here refers to the
shouts of the Lord’s worshipers (see Pss 27:6; 33:3; 47:5).
 tn Heb “in the light of your face they walk.” The idiom
“light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1),
which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss
4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; Dan 9:17).
 tn Heb “are lifted up.”
 tn Heb “for the splendor of their strength [is] you.”
 tn Heb “you lift up our horn,” or if one follows the marginal
reading (Qere), “our horn is lifted up.” The horn of an ox under-
lies 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; 89:24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).
10 tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the
Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human pro-
tector of the people. Note the parallelism with “our king” here
and with “your anointed one” in Ps 84:9.
11 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from
that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s ho-
liness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as
the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over
which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses
his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As
king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to
live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for prop-
er behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in
the book of Isaiah.
12 tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is ad-
dressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the
announcement of vv. 3-4.
13 tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faith-
ful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Na-
than’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).
14 tn Heb “I have placed help upon a warrior.”
15 tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”
king. 16
89:21 My hand will support him,17
and my arm will strengthen him.
89:22 No enemy will be able to exact trib-
ute18 from him;19
a violent oppressor will not be able to
humiliate him.20
89:23 I will crush his enemies before him;
I will strike down those who hate him.
89:24 He will experience my faithfulness
and loyal love,21
and by my name he will win victories.22
89:25 I will place his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.23
89:26 He will call out to me,
‘You are my father,24 my God, and the
protector who delivers me.’25
89:27 I will appoint him to be my firstborn
son,26
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.27
16 tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for
clarification, indicating that a royal anointing is in view.
17 tn Heb “with whom my hand will be firm.”
18 tn Heb “an enemy will not exact tribute.” The imperfect
is understood in a modal sense, indicating capability or po-
tential.
19 tn The translation understands the Hiphil of ‫ָשא‬ ַ ׁ ‫( נ‬nasha’)
in the sense of “act as a creditor.” This may allude to the
practice of a conqueror forcing his subjects to pay tribute in
exchange for “protection.” Another option is to take the verb
from a homonymic verbal root meaning “to deceive,” “to
trick.” Still another option is to emend the form to ‫שא‬ ׂ ָ ּ ִ‫( י‬yisa’), a
Qal imperfect from ‫ש‬ ׂ ‫( נ ַָא‬na’as, “rise up”) and to translate “an
enemy will not rise up against him” (see M. Dahood, Psalms
[AB], 2:317).
20 tn Heb “and a son of violence will not oppress him.” The
imperfect is understood in a modal sense, indicating capabil-
ity or potential. The reference to a “son of violence” echoes
the language of God’s promise to David in 2 Sam 7:10 (see
also 1 Chr 17:9).
21 tn Heb “and my faithfulness and my loyal love [will be]
with him.”
22 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).
23 tn Some identify “the sea” as the Mediterranean and
“the rivers” as the Euphrates and its tributaries. However, it
is more likely that “the sea” and “the rivers” are symbols for
hostile powers that oppose God and the king (see v. 9, as well
as Ps 93:3-4).
24 sn You are my father. The Davidic king was viewed as
God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7). The idiom reflects an-
cient Near Eastern adoption language associated with cove-
nants 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,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for gen-
eral discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.
25 tn Heb “the rocky summit of my deliverance.”
26 sn The firstborn son typically had special status and re-
ceived special privileges.
27 tn Heb “forever I will keep for him my loyal love and will
make my covenant secure for him.”