Bible Strands
Psalms 89:37
like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist declares a covenant promise concerning the Davidic king’s enduring throne, situated immediately between a statement of permanent royal succession and a lament over God’s apparent rejection of that same anointed one. The words — יִכּ֣וֹן (yi.Kon) means “it will be established,” and עוֹלָ֑ם (o.Lam) translates to “forever,” anchoring the moon’s permanence in the text. The thread — The motif of celestial bodies as established witnesses appears in Genesis 1:14, Psalm 104:19, and Jeremiah 31:35. Why it lands — The text places an unbroken covenant declaration beside a record of divine anger, requiring the reader to hold both the promised permanence and the present rupture without smoothing the tension.
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
King James Version
It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 31:35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:
- Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.
- Psalms 104:19 He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
- Genesis 9:13 I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
- Isaiah 54:9 “For to Me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.
- Psalms 72:7 May the righteous flourish in his days and prosperity abound until the moon is no more.