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Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
Psalms 2:12 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
  • BSB Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
  • NKJV Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
  • NASB Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way, For His wrath may be kindled quickly. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
  • NLT Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities— for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!

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 psalm closes by urging all to honor the Son and take refuge in Him, for blessing belongs to those who trust Him. Submission to the King is the way of safety and joy.

Overview

To 'give homage to the Son' is to render Him the loyalty and worship due God's Anointed, lest His wrath fall. The closing beatitude echoes Psalm 1: 'Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.' The New Testament makes clear this Son is Jesus, in whom alone there is salvation and refuge from coming judgment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 26

  • Ps 40:4Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust, and doesn’t respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
  • John 5:23that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
  • Ps 84:12Yahweh of Armies, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
  • Ps 34:8Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
  • Isa 30:18Therefore Yahweh will wait, that he may be gracious to you; and therefore he will be exalted, that he may have mercy on you, for Yahweh is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him.
  • Prov 16:20He who heeds the Word finds prosperity. Whoever trusts in Yahweh is blessed.
  • 2 Th 1:8–9giving vengeance to those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus,
  • Jer 17:7“Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose confidence is in Yahweh.
  • Rev 6:16–17They told the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,
  • 1 Pet 2:6Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.”
  • Ps 146:3–5Don’t put your trust in princes, each a son of man in whom there is no help.
  • Ps 1:6For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
  • Eph 1:12to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
  • Isa 26:3–4You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.
  • 1 Kgs 19:18Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.”
  • 1 Sam 10:1Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?
  • Ps 2:5Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath:
  • Rev 14:9–11Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand,
  • Rom 9:33even as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; and no one who believes in him will be disappointed.”
  • Ps 2:7I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father.
  • Hos 13:2Now they sin more and more, and have made themselves molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, ‘They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves.’
  • Rom 10:11For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.”
  • John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
  • 1 Pet 1:21who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
  • Gen 41:43–44and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had. They cried before him, “Bow the knee!” He set him over all the land of Egypt.
  • Gen 41:40You shall be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only in the throne I will be greater than you.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 2:12YouTube · 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 2:12 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.