Bible Strands

Psalms 89:38

Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him; You are enraged by Your anointed one.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, shifting from a declaration of covenant stability to a sudden account of divine reversal. The speaker describes a moment where God turns from His established promise to actively oppose the Davidic king.

The words — The Hebrew verbs זָ֭נַחְתָּ (Za.nach.ta) and וַ/תִּמְאָ֑ס (va./tim.'As) literally mean "you have spurned" and "you have rejected," marking a definitive withdrawal of favor. הִ֝תְעַבַּ֗רְתָּ (hit.'a.Bar.ta) translates as "you have been furious," specifying that this anger is directed toward מְשִׁיחֶֽ/ךָփ (me.shi.Che./kha), "your anointed one."

The thread — This dynamic of God's anger toward His anointed or covenant people appears in Deuteronomy 32:19, where divine rejection follows provocation, and in Psalm 89:51, where the same figure faces enemy mockery. The conditional accountability of the king is echoed in 1 Chronicles 28:9, which ties divine favor to wholehearted service.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to accept that covenant designation does not prevent divine rejection when God's purposes are actively opposed. It demands a plain confrontation with the reality of God's sovereign anger without diluting the declaration of spurning.

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

וְאַתָּ֣הve./'a.Tahand/ youזָ֭נַחְתָּZa.nach.tayou have spurnedוַתִּמְאָ֑סva./tim.'Asand/ you have rejectedהִ֝תְעַבַּ֗רְתָּhit.'a.Bar.tayou have been furiousעִם־'im-withמְשִׁיחֶֽךָ׃me.shi.Che./khaanointed/ your

King James Version

But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

Cross-references