The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
Parallel translations
- WEB The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh; but the earth has he given to the children of men.
- BSB The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.
- 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 8:6Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
- Ps 89:11The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
- Gen 1:28–30And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
- Jer 27:5–6I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
- Gen 9:1–3And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
- Deut 32:8When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
- Ps 144:5Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
- Isa 66:1Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
- John 14:2In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
- Ps 148:4Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
- Lam 3:66Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the 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.