He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
Parallel translations
- KJV He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
- BSB He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
- 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 1:14–18God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years;
- Jer 31:35Yahweh, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar; Yahweh of Armies is his name, says:
- Ps 136:7–9To him who made the great lights; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- Ps 19:6His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends; There is nothing hidden from its heat.
- Job 38:12“Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place;
- Ps 8:3When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
- Job 31:26–28if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,
- Deut 4:19and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
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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.