When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.
- KJV When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
- NKJV When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel.
- NASB “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of mankind, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel.
- NLT When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race, he established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number in his heavenly court.
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
When the Most High allotted the nations their inheritance, He set their boundaries in relation to Israel. It matters because it shows God's sovereign ordering of all peoples with Israel at the center of His purposes.
Overview
God is depicted as the sovereign who assigns nations their lands and limits, a theme echoed in Acts 17:26. (Some ancient manuscripts read 'sons of God' rather than 'children of Israel'; faithful interpreters differ on the precise sense, but God's sovereign apportioning of the nations is clear.) Israel's special place among the nations points forward to God's plan to bless all peoples through Abraham's seed, fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Acts 17:26From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
- Gen 11:8–9So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
- Dan 4:17This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’
- Ps 115:16The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.
- Gen 15:18–21On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Gen 10:25Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.
- Ps 91:1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Ps 92:8But You, O LORD, are exalted forever!
- Gen 10:15And Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,
- Acts 7:48However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
- Ps 7:17I will thank the LORD for His righteousness and sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
- Dan 5:18As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.
- Ps 50:14Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
- Num 24:16the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
- Isa 14:14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
- Ps 82:6I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 32:8 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.