Psalm 110
Living Bible
110 Jehovah said to my Lord the Messiah,[a] “Rule as my regent—I will subdue your enemies and make them bow low before you.”
2 Jehovah has established your throne[b] in Jerusalem to rule over your enemies. 3 In that day of your power your people shall come to you willingly, dressed in holy altar robes.[c] And your strength shall be renewed day by day like morning dew. 4 Jehovah has taken oath and will not rescind his vow that you are a priest forever like[d] Melchizedek. 5 God stands beside you to protect you. He will strike down many kings in the day of his anger. 6 He will punish the nations and fill them with their dead. He will crush many heads. 7 But he himself shall be refreshed from springs along the way.
Footnotes
- Psalm 110:1 the Messiah, implied. In Matthew 22:41-45, Jesus applies these words to himself.
- Psalm 110:2 Jehovah has established your throne, literally, “The Lord will send forth the rod of your strength out of Zion.” in Jerusalem, literally, “from Zion.”
- Psalm 110:3 holy altar robes, literally, “in holy array.”
- Psalm 110:4 like, literally, “after the manner of.”
Psalm 110
New King James Version
Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign(A)
A Psalm of David.
110 The (B)Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your (C)footstool.”
2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength (D)out of Zion.
(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
3 (F)Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
(G)In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
4 The Lord has sworn
And (H)will not relent,
“You are a (I)priest forever
According to the order of (J)Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is (K)at Your right hand;
He shall [a]execute kings (L)in the day of His wrath.
6 He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
(M)He shall [b]execute the heads of many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
(N)Therefore He shall lift up the head.
Footnotes
- Psalm 110:5 Lit. break kings in pieces
- Psalm 110:6 Lit. break in pieces
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.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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