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The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
Psalms 110:2 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
  • KJV The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
  • NKJV The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
  • NASB The Lord will stretch out Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
  • NLT The Lord will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem; you will rule over your enemies.

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 will extend the Messiah's powerful scepter from Zion so He rules in the midst of His enemies. The King reigns even now amid opposition.

Overview

The 'rod of strength' is the royal scepter, symbol of the Messiah's authority advancing from Zion. That He rules 'among your enemies' means His kingdom expands even before all foes are subdued, an apt picture of Christ's present reign through the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:25). His dominion is exercised in the midst of a hostile world.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • 2 Cor 10:4–5The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
  • Jer 48:17Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered—the glorious staff!
  • Matt 28:18–20Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
  • Ps 2:8–9Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
  • Ps 45:5–6Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes; the nations fall beneath your feet.
  • Ps 72:8May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
  • Ezek 47:1Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.
  • Exod 8:5And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’”
  • Ezek 19:14Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”
  • 1 Th 2:13And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe.
  • Ps 22:28–29For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.
  • Acts 2:34–37For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand
  • 1 Pet 1:12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
  • Rom 1:16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
  • Mic 4:2And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
  • 1 Cor 1:23–24but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
  • Isa 2:3And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
  • Dan 7:13–14In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.
  • Mic 7:14Shepherd with Your staff Your people, the flock of Your inheritance. They live alone in a woodland, surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
  • Exod 7:19And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”

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 110:2YouTube · 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 110:2 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.