Passage

Psalms 89.1-2

Book: Psalms · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. ^{Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.} 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)

"1. A contemplation by Ethan, the Ezrahite. 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.’” Selah." (Psalms 89:1-4, WEB)

KJV (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. ^{Maschil: or, A Psalm for Ethan the Ezrahite, to give instruction} ^{to all: Heb. to generation and generation} 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)

"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 [[H0530 - emunah|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, emunah, recurring seven times in Ps 89
H2617 - hesed, hesed
H1285 - berith, berith, the Davidic covenant

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.