The LORD’S Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.

A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1I will sing of the goodness and lovingkindness of the LORD forever;

With my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation.

2For I have said, “Goodness and lovingkindness will be built up forever;

In the heavens [unchangeable and majestic] You will establish Your faithfulness.”

3[God has said] “I have made a covenant with My chosen one;

I have sworn to David My servant,

4I will establish your seed forever

And I will build up your throne for all generations.” Selah.

5The heavens (angels) praise Your wonders, O LORD,

Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.

6For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?

Who among the divine beings is like the LORD,

7A God greatly feared and reverently worshiped in the council of the holy [angelic] ones,

And awesome above all those who are around Him?

8O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD?

Your faithfulness surrounds You [as an intrinsic, unchangeable part of Your very being].

9You rule the swelling of the sea;

When its waves rise, You still them.

10You have crushed Rahab (Egypt) like one who is slain;

You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

11The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;

The world and all that is in it, You have founded and established them.

12The north and the south, You have created them;

Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

13You have a strong arm;

Mighty is Your hand, Your right hand is exalted.

14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;

Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

15Blessed and happy are the people who know the joyful sound [of the trumpet’s blast]!

They walk, O LORD, in the light and favor of Your countenance!

16In Your name they rejoice all the day,

And in Your righteousness they are exalted.

17For You are the glory of their strength [their proud adornment],

And by Your favor our horn is exalted.

18For our shield belongs to the LORD,

And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19Once You spoke in a vision to Your godly ones,

And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty [giving him the power to be a champion for Israel];

I have exalted one chosen from the people.

20“I have found David My servant;

With My holy oil I have anointed him,

21With whom My hand shall be established and steadfast;

My arm also shall strengthen him.

22“The enemy will not outwit him,

Nor will the wicked man afflict or humiliate him.

23“I will crush his adversaries before him,

And strike those who hate him.

24“My faithfulness and My steadfast lovingkindness shall be with him,

And in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him].

25“I will also [a]set his hand on the [Mediterranean] sea,

And his right hand on the rivers [the tributaries of the Euphrates].

26“He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,

My God, and the rock of my salvation.’

27“I will also make him My firstborn (preeminent),

The highest of the kings of the earth.

28“My lovingkindness I will keep for him forevermore,

And My covenant will be confirmed to him.

29“His descendants I will establish forever,

And his throne [will endure] as the days of heaven.

30“If his children [b]turn away from My law

And do not walk in My ordinances,

31If they break My statutes

And do not keep My commandments,

32Then I will punish their transgression with the rod [of discipline],

And [correct] their wickedness with stripes.

33“Nevertheless, I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,

Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

34“My covenant I will not violate,

Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.

35“Once [for all] I have sworn by My holiness, [My vow which cannot be violated];

I will not lie to David.

36“His [c]descendants shall endure forever

And his throne [will continue] as the sun before Me.

37“It shall be established forever like the moon,

And the witness in the heavens is ever faithful.” Selah.

38But [in apparent contradiction of all this] You [the faithful LORD] have cast off and rejected;

You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.

39You have spurned and repudiated the covenant with Your servant;

You have profaned his crown [by casting it] in the dust.

40You have broken down all his [city] walls;

You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

41All who pass along the road rob him;

He has become the scorn of his neighbors.

42You have exalted the right hand of his foes;

You have made all his enemies rejoice.

43Also, You have turned back the edge of his sword

And have not made him [strong enough] to stand in battle.

44You have put an end to his splendor

And have hurled his throne to the ground.

45You have shortened the days of his youth;

You have covered him with shame. Selah.

46How long, O LORD?

Will You hide Yourself forever?

Will Your wrath burn like fire?

47Remember how fleeting my lifetime is;

For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!

48What man can live and not see death?

Can he rescue his soul from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Selah.

49O Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses [so abundant in the days of David and Solomon],

Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?

50Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants [scorned, insulted, and disgraced];

How I bear in [d]my heart the reproach of all the many peoples,

51With which Your enemies have taunted, O LORD,

With which they have mocked the footsteps of Your anointed.

52Blessed be the LORD forevermore!

Amen and Amen.