Psalms 89:25

I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand upon the rivers.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses the Davidic king, declaring a covenantal promise immediately after affirming his own faithfulness and the monarch’s exaltation. The statement functions as a royal decree establishing the terms of delegated earthly authority.

The words — וְ/שַׂמְתּ֣י (ve./sam.Ti) translates literally as “and I will set” [H7760], and יְמִינֽ/וֹ (ye.mi.N/o) means “his right [hand]” [H3225]. These verbs and nouns frame sovereign control as an act of divine placement rather than human conquest.

The thread — The sea and river imagery appears in Psalm 80:11 as a territorial metaphor, parallels Solomon’s domain from the Euphrates to Egypt in 1 Kings 4:21, and echoes the promise of nations as inheritance in Psalm 2:8. All passages use geographic extremes to denote comprehensive dominion.

Why it lands — The text asserts that divine authority grants the king jurisdiction over all nations, demanding recognition of a covenant structure that bounds earthly rule to heavenly mandate. It requires the reader to acknowledge that political power derives from and remains subordinate to divine appointment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְשַׂמְתִּ֣יve./sam.Tiand/ I will set בַיָּ֣םva/i.Yamon the/ sea יָד֑וֹya.D/ohand/ his וּֽבַנְּהָר֥וֹתu./va./ne.ha.Rotand/ on the/ rivers יְמִינֽוֹ׃ye.mi.N/oright [hand]/ his

King James Version

I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

Cross-references

Psalms 80:11 It sent out its branches to the Sea, and its shoots toward the River.
1 Kings 4:21 And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
Psalms 2:8 Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
Psalms 72:8 May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”