77:17 The clouds poured down rain; 1
the skies thundered. 2
Yes, your arrows 3 flashed about.
89:2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established; 4
in the skies you set up your faithfulness.” 5
89:37 it will remain stable, like the moon, 6
his throne will endure like the skies.” 7 (Selah)
102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
68:34 Acknowledge God’s power, 8
his sovereignty over Israel,
and the power he reveals in the skies! 9
89:6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, 10
89:29 I will give him an eternal dynasty, 11
and make his throne as enduring as the skies above. 12
103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers 13 over his faithful followers. 14
104:2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
1 tn Heb “water.”
2 tn Heb “a sound the clouds gave.”
3 tn The lightning accompanying the storm is portrayed as the
4 tn Heb “built.”
5 sn You set up your faithfulness. This may allude to the Lord’s heavenly throne, which symbolizes his just rule and from which the Lord decrees his unconditional promises (see vv. 8, 14).
6 tn Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”
7 tn 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 preferable to join וְעֵד (vÿ’ed) to עוֹלָם (’olam) in the preceding line and translate the commonly attested phrase עוֹלָם וְעֵד (“forever”). In this case one may translate the second line, “[it] will be secure like the skies.” Another option (the one reflected in the present translation) is to take עד as a rare noun meaning “throne” or “dais.” This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example, CTA 16 vi 22-23, where ksi (= כִּסֵּא, kisse’, “throne”) and ’d (= עד, “dais”) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending בַּשַּׁחַק (bashakhaq, “in the heavens”) to כַּשַׁחַק (kashakhaq, “like the heavens”) – bet/kaf (כ/ב) confusion is widely attested – one can then read “[his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/stable.” Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens, while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens (שְׁחָקִים, shÿkhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, “skies”) which frequently appears in parallelism to שְׁחָקִים.
8 tn Heb “give strength to God.”
9 sn The language of v. 34 echoes that of Deut 33:26.
10 tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (vÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the
11 tn Heb “and I will set in place forever his offspring.”
12 tn Heb “and his throne like the days of the heavens.”
13 tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.
14 tn Heb “those who fear him.”