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Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
Psalms 103:21 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Praise Yahweh, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure.
  • BSB Bless the LORD, all His hosts, you servants who do His will.
  • NKJV Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
  • NASB Bless the Lord, all you His angels, You who serve Him, doing His will.
  • NLT Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!

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

All God's hosts and servants who do His will are called to praise Him. The whole army of heaven joins in worship.

Overview

The summons broadens to all God's heavenly armies, those who minister and accomplish His pleasure. Their service is itself a form of praise. This heavenly worship anticipates the day when every knee will bow to the exalted Christ and acclaim God's glory.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • 1 Kgs 22:19And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
  • Neh 9:6Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
  • Luke 2:13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
  • Ps 104:4Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
  • Heb 1:14Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
  • Josh 5:14And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
  • Rev 22:8–9And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
  • Gen 32:2And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
  • 2 Chr 18:18Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
  • Matt 13:41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
  • Ps 68:17The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
  • Dan 7:9–10I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
  • Ps 33:6By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
  • Matt 24:30–31And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
  • 2 Th 1:7–8And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
  • Heb 1:6–7And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 103:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 103:21 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.