Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Parallel translations
- WEB Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.
- BSB In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your 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 heaven and the earth.
- Exod 20:11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
- Heb 1:10–12And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
- Jer 32:17Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
- Heb 3:3–4For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
- Gen 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
- Job 38:4–7Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
- Ps 96:5For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
- Prov 8:23–36I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
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.