As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.
Parallel translations
- WEB As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.
- KJV But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
- NKJV As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
- NASB As for the saints who are on the earth, They are the majestic ones; all my delight is in them.
- NLT The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!
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
David delights in the saints, the godly people of the land. It matters because love for God overflows into love for his people.
Overview
David calls the holy ones in the land 'the excellent ones' in whom he finds all his delight. Genuine devotion to God produces affection for fellow believers. This anticipates the fellowship of the church, the community of saints united in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Prov 13:20He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
- Prov 12:26A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.
- Heb 6:10For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
- 2 Chr 6:41Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, and enter Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might. May Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and may Your godly ones rejoice in goodness.
- Mal 3:17“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- Acts 9:13But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
- Eph 5:25–27Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Ps 30:4Sing to the LORD, O you His saints, and praise His holy name.
- Ps 101:6My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me.
- Prov 8:31I was rejoicing in His whole world, delighting together in the sons of men.
- Ps 116:15Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.
- 1 Jn 3:14–17We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
- Song 4:1–7How beautiful you are, my darling—how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.
- Isa 62:4No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.
- Ps 119:63I am a friend to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.
- Titus 3:8This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.
- Gal 6:10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- Eph 1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
- Song 7:10I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 16:3 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.