God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.
- BSB The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
- NKJV God is the Lord, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
- NASB The Lord is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice to the horns of the altar with cords.
- NLT The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
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
Yahweh is God who gives light; bind the sacrifice to the altar. It matters because God's saving light moves his people to grateful sacrifice and worship.
Overview
Acknowledging Yahweh as God who illumines his people, the verse calls for a festal sacrifice at the altar. Light and offering express thanksgiving for deliverance. The light God gives finds its fullness in Christ, the light of the world, and the true sacrifice offered once for all (John 8:12; Heb. 10:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 18:28For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
- John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
- 1 Pet 2:9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
- Isa 9:2The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
- Esth 8:16The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
- Isa 60:1Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
- 1 Kgs 18:39And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
- Ps 37:6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
- Mal 4:2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
- 1 Kgs 8:63–64And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.
- Exod 38:2And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.
- 1 Kgs 18:21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
- Ps 51:18–19Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
- Exod 27:2And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
- 1 Chr 29:21And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings unto the LORD, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:
- Heb 13:15By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
- Mic 7:9I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
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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 118:27 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.