He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will 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 shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
- Ps 59:8But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.
- Prov 1:26I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
- Isa 40:22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
- Ps 11:4The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
- Isa 57:15For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
- Ps 115:3But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
- Ps 53:5There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
- Ps 68:33To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
- Isa 66:1Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
- 2 Kgs 19:21This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
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 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.