Foreigners cower before me; when they hear me, they obey me.
Parallel translations
- WEB The foreigners will submit themselves to me. As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.
- KJV Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.
- NKJV The foreigners submit to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me.
- NASB “Foreigners pretend to obey me; As soon as they hear, they obey me.
- NLT Foreign nations cringe before me; as soon as they hear of me, they submit.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Foreigners submit to David, obeying as soon as they hear of him. His God-given reign draws even distant peoples into obedience.
Overview
The submission of foreign nations testifies to the LORD's exaltation of his anointed king. This anticipates the ingathering of the Gentiles under the rule of God's chosen one. It is gloriously fulfilled in Christ, before whom peoples of every nation bow and to whose name the world will yet render obedience.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 81:15Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience, and their doom would last forever.
- Ps 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You.
- Ps 18:44–45When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.
- Deut 33:29Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places.”
- Isa 56:6And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—
- Isa 56:3Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.”
- Acts 8:13Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.
- Acts 8:21–23You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 22:45 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.