The heavens tell of the glory of God; And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.
- KJV The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
- BSB For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
- NKJV The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
- NLT The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.
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 heavens proclaim God's glory and the sky displays his craftsmanship. Creation itself is a wordless witness to its Maker.
Overview
This celebrated psalm opens with creation's testimony to God (general revelation). The vast, ordered heavens continually 'declare' and 'show' the glory and skill of the Creator, leaving humanity without excuse (Rom 1:20). The psalm will move from God's works to his Word, both of which reveal him and ultimately point to Christ, through whom and for whom all things were made.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 8:3When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
- Rom 1:19–20because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them.
- Ps 50:6The heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah.
- Ps 148:3–4Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you shining stars!
- Ps 33:6By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth.
- Gen 1:14–15God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years;
- Ps 150:1–2Praise Yah! Praise God in his sanctuary! Praise him in his heavens for his acts of power!
- Jer 10:11–12“You shall say this to them: ‘The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.’”
- Dan 12:3Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
- Ps 115:16The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh; but the earth has he given to the children of men.
- Isa 40:22–26It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;
- Gen 1:6–8God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 19:1 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.