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The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
Psalms 110:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
  • BSB The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your 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 10:4–5(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
  • Jer 48:17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!
  • Matt 28:18–20And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
  • Ps 2:8–9Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
  • Ps 45:5–6Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.
  • Ps 72:8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
  • Ezek 47:1Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
  • Exod 8:5And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
  • Ezek 19:14And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
  • 1 Th 2:13For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
  • Ps 22:28–29For the kingdom is the LORD’s: and he is the governor among the nations.
  • Acts 2:34–37For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
  • 1 Pet 1:12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
  • Rom 1:16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
  • Mic 4:2And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
  • 1 Cor 1:23–24But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
  • Isa 2:3And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
  • Dan 7:13–14I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
  • Mic 7:14Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
  • Exod 7:19And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of 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.