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God is the Lord, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Psalms 118:27 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.
  • KJV God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto 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.
  • 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 you will light my lamp, Yahweh. My God will light up my darkness.
  • John 8:12Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
  • 1 Pet 2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
  • Isa 9:2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined.
  • Esth 8:16The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor.
  • Isa 60:1“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you.
  • 1 Kgs 18:39When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”
  • Ps 37:6he will make your righteousness go out as the light, and your justice as the noon day sun.
  • Mal 4:2But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the stall.
  • 1 Kgs 8:63–64Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, twenty two thousand head of cattle, and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated Yahweh’s house.
  • Exod 38:2He made its horns on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with brass.
  • 1 Kgs 18:21Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
  • Ps 51:18–19Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.
  • Exod 27:2You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it; and you shall overlay it with brass.
  • 1 Chr 29:21They sacrificed sacrifices to Yahweh, and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the next day after that day, even one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel,
  • Heb 13:15Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.
  • Mic 7:9I will bear the indignation of Yahweh, because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my case, and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light. I will see his righteousness.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 118:27YouTube · 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 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.