Passage

Psalms 45.6

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"4. And in thy majesty ride on prosperously, Because of truth and meekness and righteousness: And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 5. Thine arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under thee; They are in the heart of the king's enemies."

"6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom."

"7. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 8. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made thee glad." (Psalms 45:4-8, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"4. In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds. 5. Your arrows are sharp. The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies."

"6. Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom."

"7. You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. 8. All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad." (Psalms 45:4-8, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. ^{ride: Heb. prosper thou, ride thou} 5. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."

"6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre."

"7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 8. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad." (Psalms 45:4-8, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"4. As to Thy majesty, prosper!, ride! Because of truth, and meekness, righteousness, And Thy right hand showeth Thee fearful things. 5. Thine arrows [are] sharp,, Peoples fall under Thee, In the heart of the enemies of the king."

"6. Thy throne, O God, [is] age-during, and for ever, A sceptre of uprightness [Is] the sceptre of Thy kingdom."

"7. Thou hast loved righteousness and hatest wickedness, Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee, Oil of joy above thy companions. 8. Myrrh and aloes, cassia! all thy garments, Out of palaces of ivory Stringed instruments have made thee glad." (Psalms 45:4-8, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
Audience: worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
Location: Israel, various periods
Time period: composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H0430 - elohim, elohim (Strong's H430). Also appears in: Genesis 1.1, Genesis 1.2, Genesis 1.14-19.
H5769 - olam, olam (Strong's H5769). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 6, Genesis 6.4.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.