18Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,

and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.

19Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people.

You said, “I have raised up a warrior.

I have selected him from the common people to be king.

20I have found my servant David.

I have anointed him with my holy oil.

21I will steady him with my hand;

with my powerful arm I will make him strong.

22His enemies will not defeat him,

nor will the wicked overpower him.

23I will beat down his adversaries before him

and destroy those who hate him.

24My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him,

and by my authority he will grow in power.

25I will extend his rule over the sea,

his dominion over the rivers.

26And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

27I will make him my firstborn son,

the mightiest king on earth.

28I will love him and be kind to him forever;

my covenant with him will never end.

29I will preserve an heir for him;

his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.

30But if his descendants forsake my instructions

and fail to obey my regulations,

31if they do not obey my decrees

and fail to keep my commands,

32then I will punish their sin with the rod,

and their disobedience with beating.

33But I will never stop loving him

nor fail to keep my promise to him.

34No, I will not break my covenant;

I will not take back a single word I said.

35I have sworn an oath to David,

and in my holiness I cannot lie:

36His dynasty will go on forever;

his kingdom will endure as the sun.

37It will be as eternal as the moon,

my faithful witness in the sky!”

Interlude