He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.
Parallel translations
- KJV He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.
- BSB The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them.
- NKJV He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
- NASB ¶He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
- NLT But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at 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
God in heaven responds to human rebellion not with alarm but with laughter and scorn. No plot against Him can ever succeed.
Overview
The scene shifts to the enthroned Lord, utterly unthreatened by the raging nations. His laughter is not cruelty but the certainty of His sovereign supremacy over all opposition. The same exalted Lord now reigns in Christ, before whom every knee will bow (Philippians 2:10-11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 37:13The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.
- Ps 59:8But you, Yahweh, laugh at them. You scoff at all the nations.
- Prov 1:26I also will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you;
- Isa 40:22It 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;
- Ps 11:4Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.
- Isa 57:15For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
- Ps 115:3But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.
- Ps 53:5There they were in great fear, where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.
- Ps 68:33To him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice.
- Isa 66:1Yahweh says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build to me? Where will I rest?
- 2 Kgs 19:21This is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
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 2:4 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.