You set a boundary so that they will not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB You have set a boundary that they may not pass over; that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.
- KJV Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
- BSB You set a boundary they cannot cross, that they may never again cover the earth.
- NKJV You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth.
- NLT Then you set a firm boundary for the seas, so they would never again cover the earth.
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 set a boundary the waters may not cross, so they never again cover the earth. He keeps the seas in their appointed place.
Overview
This verse recalls God's promise after the flood and His ongoing restraint of the seas (Job 38:8-11). The boundaries He fixes hold back the waters for the safety of the land. His faithful keeping of such limits assures us of His covenant faithfulness, sealed in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Job 38:10–11marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
- Gen 9:11–15I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”
- Jer 5:22Don’t you fear me?’ says Yahweh ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it can’t pass it? and though its waves toss themselves, yet they can’t prevail; though they roar, yet they can’t pass over it.’
- Isa 54:9“For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
- Job 26:10He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters, and to the confines of light and darkness.
- Ps 33:7He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
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 104:9 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.