Psalm 89 speaks of the kingship of the House of David, the psalmist lamenting its fall from power for years, and G-d’s abandonment and rejection of the Jewish people. It’s about the promise of leadership and its eternal comfort. Despite the clouds and fog, Jews must be aware of and speak about the faithfulness HaShem shows to His children. Psalm 89 then describes the power that HaShem is. The Jews need never lose heart, for He is the Creator who rules over the entire world. The Psalm reflects the ups and downs of the Jewish nation – times when they feel close to G-d and times when they are further away.
- Text Psalm 89
- Hebrew text of Psalm 89 – תהילים פט
- Listen to Psalm 89
- Explanation of Psalm 89 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 89
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 89
A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. The kindness of the Lord I will sing forever; From generation to generation I will declare Your faithfulness with my mouth. For I said, “Forever it will be built with kindness; as the heavens with which You will establish Your faithfulness.” I made a covenant with My chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant.
….Where are Your former acts of kindness, O Lord, which You swore in Your trust to David? Remember, O Lord, the shame of Your servants, which I bear in my bosom, [the shame] of all great nations. What Thine enemies have disgraced, O Lord, they have disgraced the ends of Thy anointed. Blessed is the Lord forever. Amen and Amen.
Hebrew text of Psalm 89 – תהילים פט
{a} Mishkil for Eitan Ha’Azrahi:
{b} The mercies of the Lord are a treasure for generation and generation. You are with them:
{d} I made a covenant with my chosen ones, I swore to David my servant: {e} forever I will prepare your seed And I have built for generation and generation your throne, Selah:
{6} And the heaven of heaven, the LORD, will bless you for your faith in the congregation of the saints: {7} Y Elim: {8} A god worshiped in secret, many saints, and feared by all around him: {9} Jehovah my God The armies of those like you are safe, and your faith surrounds you.
You have scattered your enemies: {12} The heavens are open to you, the earth is dry and full; you are their foundation: {13} North
and right You have created Tabor and Hermon, at your name we will cry out: {Yid} You have an arm with might, be strong, lift up your right hand: {To} Justice and judgment are a throne of grace and truth Let your face go before: {16} the blessed of the people, those who know the fear of Jehovah, in the light of your face they will walk:
{17} in your name they will shine all the day And in your righteousness they will be lifted up: {18} because you glorified his strength with you and by your will (lift) up our horn: {19} because Jehovah is our protector and the Holy One of Israel is our king Oz: {24} You gave a vision to your followers and
said, ,I have helped the hero of my upliftment, a boy from the people: {21} I have found David my servant With the oil of my sanctification: {22} Whom my hand shall make with him, upon my arm shall be strong: {23} He shall not lift or give him, and the son of Olah shall not answer:
{24} And I shall cut him off from his face. Rio and his enemies are united: {so} and my faith and my love are with him and in my name they have contributed: {so} And I have placed in the seas of his hand and in the rivers of his right hand: {27} He will call me my father and you to me and
the form of my salvation: My mercy and my covenant are faithful to him. Heaven: {no} if his children forsake my law and in my judgments they shall not walk:
{heart} if my statutes are profaned and my commandments are not kept: {leg} and I commanded the tribe of Pesham and Ben I will not turn away my mercy from his people, and I will not lie in my faith: I will not break my covenant with her. And the source of my lips will not be:
{to him} I swore by my holiness, if to David I will fail: ח יקון אולמ ואד בשקק נאאמן Selah: {lat} And you forsook and consummated you intermarried with your Messiah: {m } Your servant’s covenant was broken, you invaded the land of Nizro:
{from} you broke through all its walls, you destroyed its fortresses: {from} that everyone who passed through your path was destroyed, it was a shame to forget Niu: {Mag} The mountains on the right hand of his arrows, the joy of all his enemies:
You have cleansed his sabbath and his seat in the land of grace: you have shortened the days of his ignorance, you have brought shame upon him. Your anger: {Mach} I remember what I have done for what is wrong that you have created all the sons of men:
{Matt. } He who is a man will live and not see death, his soul will flee from the hand of Saul. May you be ashamed of your servant, whom I have enshrined in my bosom, all many peoples:
{Ng} Blessed is Jehovah forever and ever, Omen and Omen:
Listen to Psalm 89
Listen to Psalm 89 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 89 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
Due to the many distractions that Jews experience in the materialistic world, they seem to no longer be able to hear the voice of G-d in their souls. The harsh noises of the materialistic world make Jews desensitized to what life should really be. Jews see despair and witness misery, but for some reason they don’t really hear the message. They know the voice is there, but their hearts do not receive what their ears discern.
To unclog the hearing, Jews must listen to the Jewish sages. These can teach them how to overcome their soul pollution. G-d has given each generation of Jews Torah sages to guide them. However, they have to accept it and that is difficult in the modern age where the secular world speaks of democracy and the majority. Connectedness to G-d goes against this worldly spirit. G-d has chosen His own leaders for the Jewish people who sacrifice themselves for the good of Jews. The Jews have to look for it and listen to it.
Psalm 89 is about the promise of leadership and its eternal comfort. The Torah scholar is the greatest son of the House of David. Redemption is built through him. It is about the covenant between G-d and David that is built up little by little until David’s throne will be reunited with the Jewish nation. Those who manage to escape the loud silence of the material world will receive the reward of serving G-d in the church led by His saints. When Jews listen to G-d they will find safety. They need never lose heart because G-d rules the world.
But how do Jews not get distracted by the material world and stay focused on G-d? They do this by following the Torah scholars who represent the sweet truths that David praised. They hold the Torah in which the works of G-d are discussed. The mitzvot strengthen the Jews.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 89
Per verse the commentary of Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator who lived from 1040-1105. Rashi is considered the teacher of teachers. All traditional Jews regard Rashi as an authority on the Jewish Bible and Talmud. Hence it is important to record his commentary on the Psalms. Rashi uses new Hebrew supplemented with Old French words. His language is sometimes somewhat oracularly short. For further explanation it is wise to consult an orthodox Jewish rabbi.
Verse 1
A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
from Ethan the Ezrahite : He too was one of the five musician brothers. [See Psalm 88:1] But our sages (BB 15a) interpreted it as referring to our father Abraham, based on (Isaiah 41:2): “Who has been raised from the East (ממזרח)
Verse 2
The kindness of the Lord I will sing forever; from generation to generation I will declare Your faithfulness with my mouth.
I will declare Your faithfulness with my mouth : What I know of You: that You keep Your promise and fulfill Your words.
Verse 3
For I said, “Forever it will be built with kindness; as the heavens, with which You will establish Your faithfulness.,
For I said, ,Forever it will be built with gentleness : For I said, ,Forever the throne of David will be built with gentleness,, as it is said (II Sam. 7:13): ,and I will establish the throne of his kingdom, etc., Another explanation: I thought that with Your kindness the world would be built, and that You would establish Your faithfulness in heaven, to be established and made permanent. What is loyalty now? That promise that You promised David through the prophet Nathan, saying, ,I made a covenant with My chosen one to establish his seed forever.,
Verse 6
And heaven acknowledges Your wonder, O Lord, and Your faithfulness in the congregation of saints.
And heaven recognizes Your miracle : If You had kept Your promise.
and Your faithfulness in the church of saints : Can be evaluated like him.
Verse 7
For who in the heavens is like the Lord? [Who] is like the Lord among the sons of the mighty?
is equal to the Lord : Can be evaluated like him.
Verse 8
G-d is honored in the great council of the saints and feared by all around Him.
in the great council of the saints : In the great council of the angels.
Verse 10
You rule over the pride of the sea; when it raises its waves, You humble them.
when it raises its waves : When the waves are raised.
You humble them : Hebrew תשבחם, You humble them, and similarly (Proverbs 29:11): ,but afterward a wise man will hold his peace (ושבחנה),; and similarly (above 65:8): ,Who humbles (משביח) the roar of the seas.,
Verse 11
You crushed Rahab like one slain; with the arm of Your might You scattered Your enemies.
Rahab : Egypt
Verse 16
Blessed are the people who know how to blow the shofar; O Lord, may they walk in the light of Your countenance.
who know how to blow the shofar : Who know how to appease their Creator on Rosh Hashana with their blowing, upon which they arrange the blessings of ‘malchuyoth’ (manifestations of God’s rule), ‘zichronoth’ (memories) and ‘shofaroth’.
Verse 18
For You are the glory of their power, and with Your favor our horns will be raised up.
and with Your favor : that You have been satisfied by them (reward in Old French), atonement.
Verse 20
Then You spoke in a vision to Your pious people and You said: ,I placed help with a mighty man; I raised a chosen one from among the people.
To Your pious people : Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.
I placed help : on David, to help him constantly.
Verse 23
No enemy shall make a demand of him, neither shall an unjust person torment him.
No enemy shall demand of him : No enemy shall prevail against him to become his creditor.
Verse 28
I will also make him a firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
will also make him a firstborn : I will make him great.
Verse 33
I will punish their transgression with a rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
I will punish their transgression with a rod : Thus Nathan the prophet said to him concerning Solomon (II Samuel 7:14), ,that if he go astray, I will chastise him with the rod of men., This refers to Rezon the son of Eliada, who rose up against him as an adversary: ,and with the stripes of the sons of Adam., This refers to Ashmadai, according to the sages of blessed memory.
Verse 36
One thing I have sworn by My holiness, that I will not disappoint David.
that I will not fail David : Hebrew אכזב, an expression of (Isaiah 58:11): ,whose water fails not (יכזבו),, faliance in Old French, to fail; possibly from the Latin fallera, deception.
Verse 38
Like the moon, which is established forever, and it is a witness in the sky forever true.”
and it is a witness in the heavens forever true : The moon and the sun are witnesses of him, that as long as they endure, his kingdom shall endure, as it is written (Jeremiah 33:20f.): If you keep My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, etc. Also My covenant with David will be broken.
Verse 39
But you forsook and rejected; You were angry with Your anointed.
But You forsook : You dealt strictly with his children in counting their iniquity until You forsook them and rejected them in the days of Zedekiah
Verse 40
You have canceled the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown to the ground.
You have canceled : You have canceled.
Verse 41
You broke down all his fences; You have reduced his fortifications to ruins.
all his fences : which he has built in Jerusalem.
its fortifications : The Temple Mount and the stronghold of Zion.
Verse 44
You have even turned back the edge of his sword, and You have not raised him up to battle.
You have even turned back the sharp edge of his sword : You turned back and turned back the sharp edge of his sword, as (Joshua 5:2): “sharp (צרים) knives,” and likewise (Isaiah 54:17): “ Every weapon that was brought against you (יוצר).”
and You did not raise him up in battle : And You did not uphold him, lest he should fall.
Verse 45
You have put an end to his glory, and you have cast down his throne to the ground.
You have put an end to its splendor : Hebrewd מטהרו, its splendor, as צהרים, midday, is translated טהרא, and similar (Exodus 24:10): ,and as the appearance of heaven for splendor (לטהר).,
you have cast down to the ground : Hebrew תרת. You have humiliated and destroyed. Every expression of stooping is, in Targum Jonathan, מגר.
Verse 48
I consider my old age; for what uselessness have You created all the sons of men?
I think about my age : Hebrew חלד. What age am I? Aren’t my days few? It should be enough to punish me with my untimely death.
for which uselessness : Hebrew אוא. Have you created all the sons of men for nothing and for vanity?
Verse 51
Remember, O Lord, the shame of Your servants, which I bear in my bosom, [the shame] of all great nations.
whom I carry in my bosom, of all great nations : In exile I bear their burden and their load.
Verse 52
What Your enemies have disgraced, O Lord, they have disgraced the ends of Your anointed.
the ends of Your anointed : Hebrew עקבות, the ends of the King Messiah. This is the language of the Mishnah (Sota 49b): at the end of the Messiah courage will increase; i.e. at the end of the exile, prior to the coming of the Messiah.
Verse 53
Blessed is the Lord forever. Amen and Amen.
Blessed is the Lord forever : For all He has done for us.
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
Within Judaism, the Jewish leader has always played an important role. The reason is that ‘ordinary’ Jews cannot cleave directly to G-d. This is only possible through a tzaddik (a pious Jewish leader) who gives instructions on how to serve G-d.
Jewish leadership began with Moses. He protected the Jewish people from external threats and he protected their internal integrity.
In the sin of the Golden Calf we see three styles of leadership emerging within the Jewish people. While leader Moses went up Mount Sinai to retrieve the Stone Tablets, Chur (Moses’ cousin) and Aharon (Moses’ brother) were appointed as temporary leaders. They were both highly respected among the Jewish people. Yet they failed to stop the sin of the Jewish people and things got out of hand when some of the Jewish people started making a Golden Calf because Moses didn’t seem to return from the mountain and thus rebelled against G’ d.
How did Chur react? He tried to stop sinning. But he did this so hard that the Jews in their madness even killed him. Even after his death, the Jews continued to sin.
How did Aharon react? He reacted exactly the opposite. He was not confrontational. He used diplomacy and conciliation. He pretended to stick to the ‘plan’ to stall things until Moses returned. But Moses’ return took too long and Aharon could not stop the construction of the Golden Calf.
How did Moses respond? He was the ultimate leader who, on the one hand, cares a lot about people and on the other hand has to show a lot of strength and courage. He had to point out people’s mistakes.
Chur and Aharon each possessed one of these qualities. Chur was too critical and Aharon too kind. Perhaps Chur and Aharon should have tempered each other’s reactions so that they could avoid sin.
Moses acted brilliantly by destroying the Stone Tablets when he returned. On the one hand, that was an act of condemnation: the Jews did not deserve God’s most precious gift. And on the other hand, Moses did it out of love to protect the Jewish people. It was a paradox – and that’s what made it so powerful. It was this powerful combination, power and love, that set Moses apart as such a dynamic and successful leader.
All Jews should follow Moses as an example. They should take a strong stand and not show weakness, but at the same time show love. In this way, others show respect and see that this is what is best for them.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.