The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.
Parallel translations
- WEB The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh; but the earth has he given to the children of men.
- KJV The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
- NKJV The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.
- NASB ¶The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, But the earth He has given to the sons of mankind.
- NLT The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to all humanity.
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
The heavens belong to God, but he has entrusted the earth to humanity. It matters because we are stewards of a world that remains God's.
Overview
This verse affirms both God's heavenly dwelling and the dignity of human stewardship over the earth, echoing the creation mandate (Gen. 1:28). Humanity is given responsibility, not ownership, under God. This stewardship is renewed in Christ, the last Adam, who restores what was marred and will one day fill the earth with God's glory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 8:6You made him ruler of the works of Your hands; You have placed everything under his feet:
- Ps 89:11The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
- Gen 1:28–30God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
- Jer 27:5–6By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
- Gen 9:1–3And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
- Deut 32:8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
- Ps 144:5Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
- Isa 66:1This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- John 14:2In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
- Ps 148:4Praise Him, O highest heavens, and you waters above the skies.
- Lam 3:66You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 115:16 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.