He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
Parallel translations
- WEB The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. A God of faithfulness who does no wrong, just and right is he.
- KJV He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
- NKJV He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
- NASB “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and just is He.
- NLT He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!
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
God is called the Rock whose work is perfect, all His ways just, faithful and without wrong. It matters because it establishes God's flawless righteousness as the standard against which Israel's sin is measured.
Overview
This towering description of God as the Rock, perfect, just, faithful, and upright, anchors the entire Song. God's unwavering integrity stands in stark contrast to the corruption of His people described next. The title 'Rock' recurs throughout the chapter and is applied in the New Testament to Christ, the steadfast foundation of salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 40
- Ps 18:30–31As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- Ps 92:15to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and in Him there is no unrighteousness.”
- Isa 26:4Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
- 2 Sam 22:31–32As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- Dan 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
- Ps 18:2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- Rev 15:3–4and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!
- Matt 5:48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
- Deut 32:30–31How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- Ps 100:5For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.
- Jas 1:17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- 1 Cor 10:4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- 2 Sam 22:2–3He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
- Gen 18:25Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
- Jer 9:24But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
- John 1:14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Rom 2:2And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
- John 14:6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Rom 3:5But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms.
- Isa 25:1O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders—plans formed long ago—in perfect faithfulness.
- Deut 32:18You ignored the Rock who brought you forth; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
- 1 Pet 2:6For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Ps 97:2Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- John 5:22Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son,
- Deut 32:15But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- Job 34:10Therefore listen to me, O men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wrong, and from the Almighty to act unjustly.
- Isa 28:16So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Hab 1:13Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
- Isa 32:2Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.
- Ps 146:6the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.
- Jer 10:10But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
- Ps 99:4The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.
- Jas 4:12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- 1 Sam 2:2There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- Ps 138:8The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—do not abandon the works of Your hands.
- Rom 2:5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
- Job 35:14How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,
- Ps 18:46The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—
- Ps 98:3He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 32:4 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.