TRV
Translation
King James Version
They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
Complete Jewish Bible
May they fear you as long as the sun endures and as long as the moon, through all generations.
Berean Standard Bible
May they fear him as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains, through all generations.
American Standard Version
They shall fear thee while the sun endureth, And so long as the moon, throughout all generations.
World English Bible Messianic
They shall fear you while the sun endures; and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
Geneva Bible (1599)
They shall feare thee as long as the sunne and moone endureth, from generatio to generation.
Young's Literal Translation
They fear Thee with the sun, and before the moon, Generation--generations.
In the KJVVerse 15,006 of 31,102
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Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers . Public domain.
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Eusebius of CaesareaAD 339
PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 7:2
And the oracle in the Psalms, which says about Christ, “There shall rise in his days justice and peace,” is in agreement with this. And I think that is why he is called “Prince of Peace” in the prophecy that I quoted before this. And I would ask you to notice that the prophet we are considering says at the outset that the Lord will come from heaven and that the subject of the prophecy will only pasture his flock after his birth at Bethlehem. And the Evangelist, whose words I have cited, furnishes the evidence that this was the case with regard to our Lord and Savior.
Ambrose of MilanAD 397
On the Holy Spirit 1.8
Nor is it strange that they should suffer the drought of unbelief, whom the Lord deprived of the fertilizing shower of prophecy, saying, “I will command my clouds that they rain not on that vineyard.” For there is a health-giving shower of salutary grace, as David also said: “He came down like rain on a fleece and like drops that fall on the earth.” The divine Scriptures promised us this rain on the whole earth, to water the world with the dew of the divine Spirit at the coming of the Savior. The Lord, then, has now come, and the rain has come; the Lord has come bringing the heavenly drops with him, and so now we drink, who before were thirsty, and with an interior draft drink in that divine Spirit.
JeromeAD 420
St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ELEVEN
[Daniel 11:24] "And there shall stand up in his place one despised, and the kingly honor shall not be given him; and he shall come privately and shall obtain the kingdom by fraud. And the arms of the fighter shall be overcome before his face and shall be broken, and the prince of the covenant as well. And after friendly advances he shall deal deceitfully with him, and shall go up and shall overcome with a small people. And he shall enter into rich and prosperous cities, and shall do things which his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers. He shall scatter their spoil and their booty and their wealth, and shall undertake plots against the best fortified cities, and shall continue thus for a time." Up to this point the historical order has been followed, and there has been no point of controversy between Porphyry and those of our side (variant: and us). But the rest of the text from here on to the end of the book he interprets as applying to the person of the Antiochus who was surnamed Epiphanes, the brother of Seleucus and the son of Antiochus the Great. He reigned in Syria for eleven years after Seleucus, and he seized Judaea, and it is under his reign that the persecution of God's Law is related, and also the wars of the Maccabees. But those of our persuasion believe all these things are spoken prophetically of the Antichrist who is to arise in the end time. But this factor appears to them as a difficulty for our view, namely the question as to why the prophetic discourse should abruptly cease mention of these great kings and shift from Seleucus to the end of the world. The answer is that in the earlier historical account where mention was made of the Persian kings, only four kings of Persia were presented, following after Cyrus, and many who came in between were simply skipped over, so as to come quickly to Alexander, king of the Macedonians. We hold that it is the practice of Scripture not to relate all details completely, but only to set forth what seems of major importance. Those of our school insist also that since many of the details which we are subsequently to read and explain are appropriate to the person of Antiochus, he is to be regarded as a type of the Antichrist, and those things which happened to him in a preliminary way are to be completely fulfilled in the case of the Antichrist. We hold that it is the habit of Holy Scripture to set forth by means of types the reality of things to come, in conformity with what is said of our Lord and Savior in the Seventy-first Psalm, a psalm which is noted at the beginning as being Solomon's, and yet not all the statements which are made concerning can be applied to Solomon. For certainly he neither endured "together with the sun and before the moon from generation to generation," (Psalm 72:5) nor did he hold sway from sea to sea, or from the River unto the ends of the earth; neither did all the nations serve him, nor did his name endure before the sun; neither were all the tribes of earth blessed in him, nor did all races magnify him. But in a partial way these things were set forth in advance, by shadows as it were, and by a mere symbol of the reality, in the person of Solomon, in order that they might be more perfectly fulfilled in our Lord and Savior. And so, just as the Savior had Solomon and the other saints as types of His advent, so also we should believe that the Antichrist very properly had as a type of himself the utterly wicked king, Antiochus, who persecuted the saints and defiled the Temple. Let us therefore follow along with the explanation point by point, and let us briefly observe in the case of each item what it signifies to those of the other school of thought and what it signifies to those of our school, in accordance with each of the two explanations. Our opponents say that the one who was to "stand up in the place of" Seleucus was his brother, Antiochus Epiphanes. The party in Syria who favored Ptolemy would not at first grant him the kingly honor, but he later secured the rule of Syria by a pretense of clemency. And as Ptolemy fought and laid everything waste, his arms were overcome and broken before the face of Antiochus. Now the word arms implies the idea of strength, and therefore also the host of any army is known as a hand. And not only does the text say that he conquered Ptolemy by fraud, but also the prince of the covenant he overcame by treachery, that is, Judas Maccabaeus. Or else this is what is referred to, that after he had secured peace with Ptolemy and he had become the prince of the covenant, he afterwards devised a plot against him. Now the Ptolemy meant here was not Epiphanes, who was the fifth Ptolemy to reign in Egypt, but Ptolemy Philometor, the son of Antiochus' sister, Cleopatra; and so Antiochus was his maternal uncle. And when after Cleopatra's death Egypt was ruled by Eulaius, the eunuch who was Philometor's tutor, and by Leneus, and they were attempting to regain Syria, which Antiochus had fraudulently seized, warfare broke out between the boy Ptolemy and his uncle. And when they joined battle between Pelusium and Mt. Casius, Ptolemy's generals were defeated. But then Antiochus showed leniency towards the boy, and making a pretense of friendship, he went up to Memphis and there received the crown after the Egyptian manner. Declaring that he was looking out for the lad's interests, he subjected all Egypt to himself with only a small force of men, and he entered into rich and prosperous cities. And so he did things which his father had never done, nor his fathers' fathers. For none of the kings of Syria had ever laid Egypt waste after this fashion and scattered all their wealth. Moreover he was so shrewd that he even overcame by his deceit the well-laid plans of those who were the boy-king's generals. This is the line of interpretation which Porphyry followed, pursuing the lead of Sutorius with much redundancy, discoursing of matters which we have summarized within a brief compass. But the scholars of our viewpoint have made a better and correcter interpretation, stating that the deeds are to be performed by the Antichrist at the end of the world. It is he who is destined to arise from a small nation, that is from the Jewish people, and shall be so lowly and despised that kingly honor will not be granted him. But by means of intrigue and deception he shall secure the government and by him shall the arms of the fighting nation of Rome be overcome and broken. He is to effect this result by pretending to be the prince of the covenant, that is, of the Law and Testament of God. And he shall enter into the richest of cities and shall do what his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers. For none of the Jews except the Antichrist has ever ruled over the whole world. And he shall form a design against the firmest resolves of the saints and shall do everything for a time, for as long as God's will shall have permitted him to do these things.
Theodore of MopsuestiaAD 428
COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 9:10-12
So that now, concerning the things to be promised to the people through the kingdom of Zerubbabel, who was assigned for this through the divine judgment, it was not at all inappropriate for the prophet, speaking, to say, “he comes righteous and saving,” so that he might show that he is present with them and that he has been chosen by God for the kingship in order to do these things. It says that those very things, therefore, have successively happened concerning the people through him. But let these things suffice for the most accurate teaching. The prophet is speaking concerning Zerubbabel and prophesying present things concerning him, if also as a prophet himself he had a certain vision concerning things to come, he adds:He shall govern the waters from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth. (Zech 9:10)
This also has apparently been said hyperbolically, that he will prevail over many enemies and that he will occupy much territory, having given it for habitation to the Jews. The seventy-first [seventy-second] psalm by the blessed David is similar; in the form of a prayer ir it has a figure of the prosperity of Solomon, where it says, “May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon throughout all generations! May he have dominion from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.” Is it not obvious that these things are said hyperbolically?
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 72
"And He shall endure to the sun," or, "shall endure with the sun" [Psalm 72:5]. For thus some of our writers have thought would be more exactly translated that which in the Greek is συμπαραμενεῖ . But if in Latin it could have been expressed in one word, it must have been expressed by compermanebit: however, because in Latin the word cannot be expressed, in order that the sense at least might be translated, it has been expressed by, "He shall endure with the sun." For He shall co-endure to the sun is nothing else but, "He shall endure with the sun." But what great matter is it for Him to endure with the sun, through whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made, [John 1:3] save that this prophecy has been sent before for the sake of those who think that the religion of the Christian name up to a particular time in this world will live, and afterwards will be no more? "He shall endure" therefore "with the sun," so long as the sun rises and sets, that is, so long as these times revolve, there shall not be wanting the Church of God, that is, Christ's body on earth. But that which he adds, "and before the moon, generations of generations:" he might have expressed by, and before the sun, that is, both with the sun and before the sun: which would have been understood by both with times and before times. That then which goes before time is eternal: and that is truly to be held eternal which by no time is changed, as, "in the beginning was the Word." [John 1:1] But by the moon he has chosen rather to intimate the waxings and wanings of things mortal. Lastly, when he had said, "before the moon," wishing in a manner to explain for what purpose he inserted the moon, "generations," he says, "of generations." As though he were saying, before the moon, that is, before the generations of generations which pass away in the departure and succession of things mortal, like the lunar wanings and waxings. And thus what is better to be understood by His enduring before the moon, than that He takes precedence of all mortal things by immortality? Which also as follows may not impertinently be taken, that whereas now, having humbled the false-accuser, He sits at the right hand of the Father, this is to endure with the sun. For the brightness of the eternal glory is understood to be the Son: [Hebrews 1:3] as though the Sun were the Father, and the Brightness of Him His Son. But as these things may be spoken of the invisible Substance of the Creator, not as of that visible creation wherein are bodies celestial, of which bright bodies the sun has the pre-eminence, from which this similitude has been drawn: just as they are drawn even from things earthly, to wit, stone, lion, lamb, man having two sons, and the like: therefore having humbled the false-accuser, He endures with the sun: because having vanquished the devil by the Resurrection, He sits at the right hand of the Father, [Mark 16:19] where He dies no more, and death no longer over Him shall have dominion. [Romans 6:9] This too is before the moon, as though the First-born from the dead were going before the Church, which is passing on in the departure and succession of mortals. These are "the generations of generations." Or perchance it is because generations are those whereby we are begotten mortally; but generations of generations those whereby we are begotten again immortally. And such is the Church which He went before, in order that He might endure before the moon, being the First-born of the dead. To be sure, that which is in the Greek γενεας γενεῶν, some have interpreted, not "generations," but, "of a generation of generations:" because γενεας is of ambiguous case in Greek, and whether it be the genitive singular της γενε
Maximus of TurinAD 465
SERMON 97:3
Therefore, today the Lord was born according to the flesh in such secret silence that his generation was thoroughly ignorant of his birth. For the world did not know that he was born outside the knowledge of his father and that he was conceived outside the order of nature. For Joseph took as his son him whom he did not beget, and Mary gave birth to him whom she did not create in the ordinary manner of sexual intercourse. Thus the Lord was born in such a way that nobody would suspect or believe or perceive what his origin would be. How would they believe that this would happen when they scarcely believe what happened afterwards? As to the fact that the Savior would descend hiddenly and secretly into the virgin, the prophet David had already previously attested to that when he said, “He came down like rain on the fleece.” For what takes place so silently, without a sound, as when rain is poured onto a fleece of wool? It doesn’t strike anybody’s ears with its sound; it doesn’t splash anyone’s body with the wetness of the dew bouncing off the flece, but without disturbing anyone, the fleece draws into itself in its entire body all the rain being poured through its many parts because it does not know any division into one channel, but rather offers many channels owing to its dense softness. It seems to be closed owing to its density, but is in truth absorbent owing to its fineness.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 72:5 presents a profound declaration regarding the enduring reverence for a righteous king, a vision that ultimately points to the everlasting dominion of God and His Messiah. This verse, embedded within a prayer for an ideal monarch, proclaims that the awe, respect, and worship inspired by such a reign will persist as long as the celestial bodies endure, spanning across all successive generations. It speaks to the stability of divine influence and the perpetual worship it rightfully inspires, reflecting the eternal nature of God's covenant and kingdom.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 72:5 masterfully employs several literary devices to convey its profound message of enduring reverence. The most prominent is Simile, evident in the phrase "as long as the sun and moon endure," which directly compares the desired permanence of the people's reverence to the perceived eternal existence of these celestial bodies. This comparison vividly illustrates the unwavering and perpetual nature of the worship envisioned. Closely related is Hyperbole, as the literal interpretation of "as long as the sun and moon endure" suggests an infinite duration, emphasizing the extreme and unending nature of the reverence and the king's reign. The sun and moon also function as powerful Symbolism, representing stability, divine order, and eternity, thereby underscoring the unwavering nature of God's promises and the righteous king's dominion. Furthermore, the entire psalm, including this verse, functions as Messianic Prophecy, where the description of an ideal earthly king's reign points beyond any human monarch to the ultimate, eternal, and universal dominion of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whose kingdom truly inspires everlasting worship and endures forever. The use of Parallelism is also subtle but present, as "as long as the sun and moon endure" is reinforced by "throughout all generations," creating a sense of comprehensive and continuous duration across both cosmic time and human lineage.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse beautifully intertwines themes of divine sovereignty, covenant faithfulness, and the nature of true worship. It posits that genuine reverence for God is not a fleeting emotion but an enduring posture of the heart, as constant and reliable as the celestial order He established. The stability of creation serves as a testament to the unwavering faithfulness of the Creator, implying that the worship offered to Him should reflect that same steadfastness. This enduring reverence is a mark of God's eternal kingdom, which transcends all earthly reigns and promises a perpetual relationship between God and His people. It speaks to the hope that God's truth and the awe it inspires will never vanish but will be passed down through time, preserving His legacy among humanity, ensuring that His glory is acknowledged from generation to generation.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 72:5 calls believers today to cultivate a deep, abiding reverence for God that is not contingent upon circumstances or fleeting emotions. Our worship, obedience, and awe should be as constant and reliable as the sun and moon, reflecting the unchanging nature of God Himself. This verse encourages us to trust in God's eternal faithfulness and the enduring nature of His kingdom, finding profound security and hope in the knowledge that His dominion far surpasses any earthly power or transient human reign. It also lays a significant responsibility upon us: to actively transmit our faith and reverence for God to future generations. We are called to be faithful stewards of the spiritual legacy, ensuring that the awe and worship of God continue to thrive "throughout all generations" through intentional discipleship, godly living, and sharing the truth of His enduring kingdom. Ultimately, it fuels our longing for the full realization of God's kingdom, where the reign of the true Messianic King will inspire perfect and everlasting reverence from all creation.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Is the "fear" mentioned in this verse about being afraid of God?
Answer: No, the "fear" (Hebrew: yârêʼ) in Psalms 72:5, and generally throughout the Old Testament when referring to God, does not primarily mean terror or fright in the sense of being scared. Instead, it signifies a profound sense of awe, reverence, respect, and worship. It implies recognizing God's immense power, majesty, holiness, and sovereignty, which naturally leads to humble submission, obedience, and a desire to honor Him in all things. This "fear of the Lord" is consistently presented as the foundation of wisdom and knowledge, as seen in Proverbs 9:10 and Psalm 111:10. It's a healthy, worshipful fear that acknowledges God's rightful place as Creator and Lord, fostering a right relationship with Him.
How can an earthly king's reign last "as long as the sun and moon endure"?
Answer: This phrase, "as long as the sun and moon endure," is a poetic and hyperbolic expression signifying an extremely long, perpetual, or eternal duration. While it speaks to the ideal longevity and stability of a righteous earthly king's reign (like Solomon's, to whom the psalm is traditionally attributed), it points beyond the limitations of any human monarch. No earthly kingdom or ruler truly lasts "as long as the sun and moon endure" in a literal sense. Therefore, this verse, like much of Psalm 72, has a profound messianic dimension. It anticipates a king whose reign will truly be eternal and universal, a king whose dominion will never end. This ultimate fulfillment is found only in the person and kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, whose reign is indeed everlasting and whose kingdom will endure throughout all generations, as prophesied in Daniel 2:44 and Luke 1:33.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 72:5 finds its ultimate and perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the true Messianic King whose reign truly endures "as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations." While the psalm initially describes an ideal earthly monarch, its language and aspirations transcend any human king, pointing directly to the eternal dominion of Christ. He is the righteous King who judges the poor with equity and delivers the needy, as anticipated in Isaiah 9:6-7. His kingdom is not of this world, yet it is an everlasting kingdom that will never be destroyed, as declared in Daniel 7:14 and affirmed in Luke 1:33. The "fear" or profound reverence described in this verse is perfectly and eternally directed towards Him, for He is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise from every creature "throughout all generations" (Revelation 5:13). Unlike any earthly ruler whose reign is finite, Jesus Christ is the same "yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8), ensuring that the awe and worship inspired by His perfect justice, peace, and love will indeed endure for all eternity, a kingdom without end.