He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
Parallel translations
- WEB He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
- KJV He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
- NKJV He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down.
- NASB He made the moon for the seasons; The sun knows the place of its setting.
- NLT You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set.
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
God appointed the moon to mark seasons, and the sun knows its time to set. The heavenly lights serve His ordered governance of time.
Overview
The sun and moon are not objects of worship but obedient servants marking the rhythms of days and seasons. Their faithful courses display God's ordering wisdom. The Maker of the lights is glorified in Christ, who will be the everlasting light when sun and moon are no longer needed (Revelation 21:23).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 1:14–18And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.
- Jer 31:35Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:
- Ps 136:7–9He made the great lights—His loving devotion endures forever.
- Ps 19:6it rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
- Job 38:12In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,
- Ps 8:3When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—
- Job 31:26–28if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
- Deut 4:19When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 104:19 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.