Discovery BoxPsalms 89:31-37 
Context89:31 if they break 1 my rules
and do not keep my commandments,
89:32 I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club, 2
their sin by inflicting them with bruises. 3
89:33 But I will not remove 4 my loyal love from him,
nor be unfaithful to my promise. 5
89:34 I will not break 6 my covenant
or go back on what I promised. 7
89:35 Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness,
I will never deceive 8 David.
89:36 His dynasty will last forever. 9
His throne will endure before me, like the sun, 10
89:37 it will remain stable, like the moon, 11
his throne will endure like the skies.” 12 (Selah)
1 tn Or “desecrate.”
2 tn Heb “I will punish with a club their rebellion.”
sn Despite the harsh image of beating…with a club, the language reflects a father-son relationship (see v. 30; 2 Sam 7:14). According to Proverbs, a שֵׁבֶט (shevet, “club”) was sometimes utilized to administer corporal punishment to rebellious children (see Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15).
3 tn Heb “with blows their sin.”
4 tn Heb “break”; “make ineffectual.” Some prefer to emend אָפִיר (’afir; the Hiphil of פָּרַר, parar, “to break”) to אָסִיר (’asir; the Hiphil of סוּר, sur, “to turn aside”), a verb that appears in 2 Sam 7:15.
5 tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”
6 tn Or “desecrate.”
7 tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”
8 tn Or “lie to.”
9 tn Heb “his offspring forever will be.”
10 tn Heb “and his throne like the sun before me.”
11 tn Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”
12 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.
