> [[psalm-44|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-46|Next →]] --- # Psalm 45 ## Song for a Royal Wedding 1 For the leader; according to “Lilies.” A *maskil* of the Korahites. A love song. ^psalm-45-1 ### I 2 My heart is stirred by a noble theme, ^psalm-45-2 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; ^psalm-45-3 fair speech has graced your lips, for God has blessed you forever. 4 Gird your sword upon your hip, mighty warrior! ^psalm-45-4 In splendor and majesty ride on triumphant! 5 In the cause of truth, meekness, and justice ^psalm-45-5 may your right hand show your wondrous deeds. 6 Your arrows are sharp; ^psalm-45-6 peoples will cower at your feet; the king’s enemies will lose heart. 7 Your throne, O God, stands forever; ^psalm-45-7 your royal scepter is a scepter for justice. 8 You love justice and hate wrongdoing; ^psalm-45-8 therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellow kings. 9 With myrrh, aloes, and cassia ^psalm-45-9 your robes are fragrant. From ivory-paneled palaces stringed instruments bring you joy. 10 Daughters of kings are your lovely wives; ^psalm-45-10 a princess arrayed in Ophir’s gold comes to stand at your right hand. ### III 11 Listen, my daughter, and understand; ^psalm-45-11 pay me careful heed. Forget your people and your father’s house, 12 that the king might desire your beauty. ^psalm-45-12 He is your lord; 13 honor him, daughter of Tyre. ^psalm-45-13 Then the richest of the people will seek your favor with gifts. 14 All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters, ^psalm-45-14 her raiment threaded with gold; 15 In embroidered apparel she is led to the king. ^psalm-45-15 The maids of her train are presented to the king. 16 They are led in with glad and joyous acclaim; ^psalm-45-16 they enter the palace of the king. ### IV 17 The throne of your fathers your sons will have; ^psalm-45-17 you shall make them princes through all the land. 18 I will make your name renowned through all generations; ^psalm-45-18 thus nations shall praise you forever. \* (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. [Heb 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. a. (45:3) [Sg 5:10] – [16]. b. (45:4) ([[psalm-21|Ps 21]]:5]. c. (45:7] – [8) [Heb 1:8] – [9]. d. (45:13) [Ps 72:10] – [11]; [Is 60:5f]. e. (45:14] – [16) [[ezekiel-16|Ez 16]]:10 – [13]. f. (45:17) [[genesis-17|Gen 17]]:6. g. (45:18) [Is 60:15]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[psalm-44|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-46|Next →]]