“And He was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people gathered, The tribes of Israel together.
Parallel translations
- WEB He was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
- KJV And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.
- BSB So the LORD became King in Jeshurun when the leaders of the people gathered, when the tribes of Israel came together.
- NKJV And He was King in Jeshurun, When the leaders of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together.
- NLT The Lord became king in Israel— when the leaders of the people assembled, when the tribes of Israel gathered as one.”
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
Yahweh reigned as king over Jeshurun (Israel) when the people and their tribes gathered together. God Himself is Israel's true King.
Overview
"Jeshurun" is an affectionate poetic name for Israel, meaning "the upright one." The verse celebrates God's kingship over a united nation, established at the founding assembly of the tribes. Israel's monarchy was always meant to be under God's ultimate rule, a kingship perfectly realized in Jesus, the King of kings descended from Israel (Rev. 19:16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 32:15But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked. You have grown fat. You have grown thick. You have become sleek. Then he abandoned God who made him, and rejected the Rock of his salvation.
- Judg 17:6In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.
- Num 23:21He has not seen iniquity in Jacob. Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. Yahweh his God is with him. The shout of a king is among them.
- Judg 8:22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you, and your son, and your son’s son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”
- Exod 18:19Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God.
- Gen 36:31These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel.
- Judg 9:2“Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
- Num 16:13–15Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us?
- Exod 18:16When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.”
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 33:5 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.