# Psalms 89.1-2

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-31 | updated: 2026-05-31 -->

**Book:** [Psalms](/codex/psalms/) · ASV

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> **1. <sup>Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.</sup> I will sing of the lovingkindness of Jehovah for ever: With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. 2. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; Thy faithfulness wilt thou establish in the very heavens.**
>
> 3. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant: 4. Thy seed will I establish for ever, And build up thy throne to all generations. Selah (Psalms 89:1-4, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> **1. <b>A contemplation by Ethan, the Ezrahite. </b> I will sing of the loving kindness of Yahweh forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 2. I indeed declare, “Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens. Your faithfulness is in them.”**
>
> 3. “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant, 4. ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build up your throne to all generations.’” <i>Selah.</i> (Psalms 89:1-4, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> **1. Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. <sup>Maschil: or, A Psalm for Ethan the Ezrahite, to give instruction</sup> <sup>to all: Heb. to generation and generation</sup> 2. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.**
>
> 3. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4. Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. (Psalms 89:1-4, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> **1. An instruction, by Ethan the Ezrahite. Of the kind acts of Jehovah, to the age I sing, To all generations I make known Thy faithfulness with my mouth, 2. For I said, 'To the age is kindness built, The heavens! Thou dost establish Thy faithfulness in them.'**
>
> 3. I have made a covenant for My chosen, I have sworn to David My servant: 4. 'Even to the age do I establish thy seed, And have built to generation and generation thy throne. Selah. (Psalms 89:1-4, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** Ethan the Ezrahite (1 Kgs 4:31; one of the Levitical musicians of Solomon's era)
- **Audience:** post-Davidic Israel, possibly in crisis over the dynasty's apparent collapse
- **Location:** Jerusalem temple liturgical tradition
- **Time period:** likely composed during or after a major Davidic-dynasty crisis (Babylonian exile or late monarchic period)

## Theological reading

Psalm 89 is the OT chapter most saturated with [*emunah*](/codex/h0530-emunah/), the term recurs seven times across the psalm (vv. 1, 2, 5, 8, 24, 33, 49). The opening couplet (vv. 1-2) sets the doxological frame: the psalmist will *sing of YHWH's hesed forever* and *make known His emunah to all generations*. The vertical claim of v. 2, *"thy faithfulness wilt thou establish in the very heavens"*, anchors the rest of the psalm's argument: God's covenant with David is grounded in attributes that are cosmic in scale. The psalm then narrates the Davidic-covenant promise (vv. 3-37) before turning to the apparent contradiction between the promise and the present crisis (vv. 38-51). The verse's pastoral logic is enduring: the believer's confidence rests not on present circumstances but on the cosmic-scale *emunah* of the covenant-keeping God.

## Key words

- [H0530 - emunah](/codex/h0530-emunah/), *emunah*, recurring seven times in Ps 89
- [H2617 - hesed](/codex/h2617-hesed/), *hesed*
- [H1285 - berith](/codex/h1285-berith/), *berith*, the Davidic covenant

## See also

- [H0530 - emunah](/codex/h0530-emunah/), the lexical hub
- [Psalms](/codex/psalms/)
- Davidic Covenant, the central theme of the psalm

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## Quoted in

**Lexicon:**

- [H0530 - emunah](/codex/h0530-emunah/)
- [H0539 - aman](/codex/h0539-aman/), via [Psalms 89.1](/codex/psalms-89-1/), [Psalms 89.2](/codex/psalms-89-2/)

**Passages:**

- [Lamentations 3.23](/codex/lamentations-3-23/)
- [Psalms 89.8](/codex/psalms-89-8/)

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## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.