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Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, For great is the glory of the Lord.
Psalms 138:5 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yes, they will sing of the ways of Yahweh; for great is Yahweh’s glory.
  • KJV Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
  • BSB They will sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.
  • NASB And they will sing of the ways of the Lord, For great is the glory of the Lord.
  • NLT Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways, for the glory of the Lord is very great.

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 kings will sing of Yahweh's ways because His glory is great.

Overview

David anticipates the nations not merely acknowledging but celebrating the Lord's ways in song. The greatness of God's glory will compel their praise. This vision of universal worship points to the gathering of the nations to glorify God through Jesus Christ, whose glory fills the earth.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Ps 21:5His glory is great in your salvation. You lay honor and majesty on him.
  • Rev 4:11“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”
  • Rev 7:12saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
  • Mal 1:11For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name is great among the nations,” says Yahweh of Armies.
  • Rev 5:12–14saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!”
  • Isa 6:1–3In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
  • Exod 15:11Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
  • Rev 19:1After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God:
  • Exod 33:18–19He said, “Please show me your glory.”
  • John 17:1Jesus said these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;
  • 2 Cor 4:6seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
  • Zeph 3:14–15Sing, daughter of Zion! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem.
  • Matt 21:5–9“Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
  • Isa 52:7–10How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
  • Jer 31:11–12For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
  • Eph 1:12to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
  • Isa 66:10–14“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn over her;
  • John 13:31–32When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.
  • Isa 65:14Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.
  • Luke 19:37–38As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,
  • Eph 1:6to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved,

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 138:5YouTube · 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 138:5 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.