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Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
Psalms 2:8 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
  • KJV Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
  • BSB Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
  • NASB ‘Ask it of Me, and I will certainly give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as Your possession.
  • NLT Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.

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 invites His Son to ask, and He will be given all the nations as His inheritance. The Messiah's reign extends to the ends of the earth.

Overview

The Father offers the Son a worldwide dominion, the nations themselves as His possession. This promise drives the church's mission, for the risen Christ claims all authority and sends His people to disciple the nations (Matthew 28:18-19). What the rebellious peoples refuse to grant, God freely gives to His King.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Ps 22:27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
  • Ps 89:27I will also appoint him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
  • Ps 72:8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
  • John 17:4–5I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do.
  • Dan 7:13I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

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 2:8YouTube · 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 2:8 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.