Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course,
Parallel translations
- WEB which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course.
- KJV Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
- NKJV Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
- NASB Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.
- NLT It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
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 sun rises like a joyful bridegroom and runs its course like a strong athlete. Its daily journey radiates exuberant, God-given vigor.
Overview
David personifies the sun with two images of vitality: a bridegroom emerging in splendor and a champion eager to run. The picture celebrates the energy and beauty God built into creation. The sun's faithful daily course displays the order and goodness of the Creator who appointed it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 62:5For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
- Phil 3:13–14Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
- 1 Cor 9:24–26Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.
- Isa 61:10I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
- Heb 12:1–2Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.
- Eccl 1:5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
- John 3:29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 19:5 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.