In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Parallel translations
- WEB Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.
- KJV Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
- NKJV Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- NASB “In time of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- NLT Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.
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
Long ago God laid the earth's foundations and made the heavens. Creation testifies to His eternal power.
Overview
The psalmist exalts God as Creator who established the earth and heavens by His own hand. This grounds his hope in the One who existed before and made all things. Hebrews 1:10 applies this verse to the Son, affirming Christ's role as Creator and His full deity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 1:1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Exod 20:11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
- Heb 1:10–12And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Jer 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- Heb 3:3–4For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.
- Gen 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
- Job 38:4–7Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
- Ps 96:5For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.
- Prov 8:23–36From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, before the earth began.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 102:25 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.