Psalm 45
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 45[a]
Song for a Royal Wedding
1 For the leader; according to “Lilies.” A maskil of the Korahites. A love song.
I
2 My heart is stirred by a noble theme,
as I sing my ode to the king.
My tongue is the pen of a nimble scribe.
II
3 You are the most handsome of men;
fair speech has graced your lips,
for God has blessed you forever.(A)
4 Gird your sword upon your hip, mighty warrior!
In splendor and majesty ride on triumphant!(B)
5 In the cause of truth, meekness, and justice
may your right hand show your wondrous deeds.
6 Your arrows are sharp;
peoples will cower at your feet;
the king’s enemies will lose heart.
7 Your throne, O God,[b] stands forever;(C)
your royal scepter is a scepter for justice.
8 You love justice and hate wrongdoing;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your fellow kings.
9 With myrrh, aloes, and cassia
your robes are fragrant.
From ivory-paneled palaces[c]
stringed instruments bring you joy.
10 Daughters of kings are your lovely wives;
a princess arrayed in Ophir’s gold[d]
comes to stand at your right hand.
III
11 Listen, my daughter, and understand;
pay me careful heed.
Forget your people and your father’s house,[e]
12 that the king might desire your beauty.
He is your lord;
13 (D)honor him, daughter of Tyre.
Then the richest of the people
will seek your favor with gifts.
14 All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters,(E)
her raiment threaded with gold;
15 In embroidered apparel she is led to the king.
The maids of her train are presented to the king.
16 They are led in with glad and joyous acclaim;
they enter the palace of the king.
IV
17 The throne of your fathers your sons will have;
you shall make them princes through all the land.(F)
18 I will make your name renowned through all generations;
thus nations shall praise you forever.(G)
Footnotes
- Psalm 45 A song for the Davidic king’s marriage to a foreign princess from Tyre in Phoenicia. The court poet sings (Ps 45:2, 18) of God’s choice of the king (Ps 45:3, 8), of his role in establishing divine rule (Ps 45:4–8), and of his splendor as he waits for his bride (Ps 45:9–10). The woman is to forget her own house when she becomes wife to the king (Ps 45:11–13). Her majestic beauty today is a sign of the future prosperity of the royal house (Ps 45:14–17). The Psalm was retained in the collection when there was no reigning king, and came to be applied to the king who was to come, the messiah.
- 45:7 O God: the king, in courtly language, is called “god,” i.e., more than human, representing God to the people. Hb 1:8–9 applies Ps 45:7–8 to Christ.
- 45:9 Ivory-paneled palaces: lit., “palaces of ivory.” Ivory paneling and furniture decoration have been found in Samaria and other ancient Near Eastern cities, cf. Am 3:15.
- 45:10 Ophir’s gold: uncertain location, possibly a region on the coast of southern Arabia or eastern Africa, famous for its gold, cf. 1 Kgs 9:28; 10:11; Jb 22:24.
- 45:11 Forget your people and your father’s house: the bride should no longer consider herself a daughter of her father’s house, but the wife of the king—the queen.
Tehillim 45
Orthodox Jewish Bible
45 (For the one directing upon Shoshannim, for the Bnei Korach. A Maskil. Shir yedidot, i.e., a love song). My lev is stirred with davar tov; I speak my verses to HaMelech; my leshon (tongue) is the et (pen, stylus) of a sofer mahir (ready scribe, skillful writer).
2 (3) Thou art fairer than Bnei Adam; chen (grace, favor) is poured upon Thy sfatayim (lips); therefore Elohim hath blessed Thee l’olam. [T.N. The coming Messianic King is called Elohim [Ps 45:6(7)] just as this coming personage is called El Gibbor in Isa 9:5; see MJ 1:8; The Targumist renders Psa 45:2(3) as a reference to Moshiach.]
3 (4) Gird Thy cherev upon Thy side, O Gibbor [See Isaiah 9:5(6)], with Thy hod (glory, splendor) and Thy hadar (majesty).
4 (5) And in Thy hadar (majesty) ride forth victoriously for the sake of emes and anavah and tzedek; and Thy Yamin (Right Hand) shall guide Thee to nora’ot (things of awe).
5 (6) Thine khitzim (arrows) are sharp in the lev oyvei HaMelech (in the heart of the King’s enemies); the Amim (nations) fall under Thee.
6 (7) Thy kisse (throne), O Elohim, is olam va’ed; the shevet (sceptre) of Thy Malchut is a shevet of uprightness.
7 (8) Thou lovest tzedek, and hatest resha; therefore Elohim, Eloheicha, hath anointed Thee with shemen sasson (the oil of gladness) above Thy chaverim.
8 (9) All Thy robes smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia; out of the ivory heikhalim stringed instruments have made Thee glad.
9 (10) Banot Melachim were among Thy ladies of honor; upon Thy Yamin (Right Hand) is stationed the Shegal (Queen consort, spouse of the reigning monarch) in golden jewelry of Ophir.
10 (11) Pay heed, O Bat (daughter), and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy Bais Avi;
11 (12) Then shall HaMelech be enthralled with thy beauty; since He is thy Adon, hishtachavi lo (bow to Him).
12 (13) And the Bat Tzor (Tyre) shall be there with a minchah (gift); even the ashirim (rich ones) among the people shall entreat thy favor.
13 (14) The Bat Melech is all glorious within; her clothing is zahav embroidered.
14 (15) She shall be brought unto HaMelech in woven apparel; the betulot (virgins), her companions that follow her, shall be brought unto Thee.
15 (16) With simchah and gladness shall they be led forth; they shall enter into the Heikhal Melech.
16 (17) Instead of thy avot shall be thy sons, whom thou mayest make sarim (princes) in kol ha’aretz.
17 (18) I will make Thy Shem to be remembered kol dor vador; therefore shall the Amim (nations) praise Thee l’olam va’ed.
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