Psalm 110
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 110
The Priestly King
A Davidic psalm.
1 This is the declaration of the Lord
to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”(A)
2 The Lord will extend Your mighty scepter from Zion.
Rule[a] over Your surrounding[b] enemies.(B)
3 Your people will volunteer
on Your day of battle.[c](C)
In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
the dew of Your youth belongs to You.[d](D)
4 The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back:
“Forever, You are a priest
like Melchizedek.”(E)
5 The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will crush kings on the day of His anger.(F)
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up corpses;(G)
He will crush leaders over the entire world.(H)
7 He will drink from the brook by the road;(I)
therefore, He will lift up His head.(J)
Footnotes
- Psalm 110:2 One Hb ms, LXX, Tg read You will rule
- Psalm 110:2 Lit Rule in the midst of Your
- Psalm 110:3 Lit power
- Psalm 110:3 Hb obscure
Psalm 110
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 110[a]
God Appoints the King both King and Priest
1 A psalm of David.
The Lord says to my lord:[b]
“Sit at my right hand,
while I make your enemies your footstool.”(A)
2 The scepter of your might:
the Lord extends your strong scepter from Zion.
Have dominion over your enemies!
3 Yours is princely power from the day of your birth.
In holy splendor before the daystar,
like dew I begot you.(B)
4 The Lord has sworn and will not waver:
“You are a priest forever in the manner of Melchizedek.”[c](C)
5 At your right hand is the Lord,
who crushes kings on the day of his wrath,(D)
6 Who judges nations, heaps up corpses,
crushes heads across the wide earth,
7 [d]Who drinks from the brook by the wayside
and thus holds high his head.(E)
Footnotes
- Psalm 110 A royal Psalm in which a court singer recites three oracles in which God assures the king that his enemies are conquered (Ps 110:1–2), makes the king “son” in traditional adoption language (Ps 110:3), gives priestly status to the king and promises to be with him in future military ventures (Ps 110:4–7).
- 110:1 The Lord says to my lord: a polite form of address of an inferior to a superior, cf. 1 Sm 25:25; 2 Sm 1:10. The court singer refers to the king. Jesus in the synoptic gospels (Mt 22:41–46 and parallels) takes the psalmist to be David and hence “my lord” refers to the messiah, who must be someone greater than David. Your footstool: in ancient times victorious kings put their feet on the prostrate bodies of their enemies.
- 110:4 Melchizedek: Melchizedek was the ancient king of Salem (Jerusalem) who blessed Abraham (Gn 14:18–20); like other kings of the time he performed priestly functions. Hb 7 sees in Melchizedek a type of Christ.
- 110:7 Who drinks from the brook by the wayside: the meaning is uncertain. Some see an allusion to a rite of royal consecration at the Gihon spring (cf. 1 Kgs 1:33, 38). Others find here an image of the divine warrior (or king) pursuing enemies so relentlessly that he does not stop long enough to eat and drink.
Psalm 110
King James Version
110 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
2 The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
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