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For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
Psalms 135:5 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For I know that Yahweh is great, that our Lord is above all gods.
  • BSB For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods.
  • NKJV For I know that the Lord is great, And our Lord is above all gods.
  • NASB ¶For I know that the Lord is great And that our Lord is above all gods.
  • NLT I know the greatness of the Lord— that our Lord is greater than any other god.

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 psalmist confesses that Yahweh is great and above all gods. It affirms the Lord's supremacy over every rival power.

Overview

The psalmist personally declares his knowledge that Yahweh is great and exalted above all so-called gods. The idols of the nations are nothing before the living God. This supremacy is upheld in Christ, exalted above every name and Lord over all.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Ps 95:3For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
  • Ps 48:1Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
  • Deut 10:17For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
  • Ps 97:9For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
  • Dan 6:26–27I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
  • Ps 86:8–10Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
  • Dan 3:29Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
  • Isa 40:25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
  • Ps 96:4–5For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
  • Isa 40:22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
  • Ps 89:6For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?
  • Jer 10:10–11But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

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 135:5YouTube · 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 135:5 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.