As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners submit to me.
Parallel translations
- WEB As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me. The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.
- KJV As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
- BSB When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.
- NASB As soon as they hear, they obey me; Foreigners pretend to obey me.
- NLT As soon as they hear of me, they submit; foreign nations cringe before me.
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
Foreigners submit to David at the mere report of him. His God-given authority commands obedience even from distant peoples.
Overview
The swift, almost reluctant submission of foreigners shows the reach of David's God-granted dominion. This is the language of an empire established by the Lord. It prefigures the gospel's advance, as nations who had not sought the Messiah come to obey him at the hearing of the word (cf. Isa 55:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 81:15The haters of Yahweh would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
- Ps 66:3Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you.
- 2 Sam 22:44–46You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people. You have kept me to be the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known will serve me.
- Deut 33:29You are happy, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency? Your enemies will submit themselves to you. You will tread on their high places.”
- Ps 68:30Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples. Being humbled, may it bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations that delight in war.
- Rom 10:16–17But they didn’t all listen to the glad news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
- 2 Sam 1:13David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” He answered, “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.”
- Isa 62:8Yahweh has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, “Surely I will no more give your grain to be food for your enemies; and foreigners will not drink your new wine, for which you have labored;
- Ezek 44:7in that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations.
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 18:44 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.