For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
Parallel translations
- WEB For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence.
- BSB For You grant him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence.
- NKJV For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.
- NASB For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with the joy of Your presence.
- NLT You have endowed him with eternal blessings and given him the joy of your presence.
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 makes the king blessed forever and fills him with joy in his presence. Lasting blessing and gladness come from nearness to God.
Overview
The king is made the recipient of perpetual blessing and is gladdened by the joy of God's presence. The deepest blessing is fellowship with God himself. This anticipates the Messiah, who lives in unbroken fellowship with the Father and brings his people into that same joy of God's presence forever (Ps 16:11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Acts 2:28Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
- Ps 45:7Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
- Ps 16:11Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
- Gal 3:9So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
- Luke 2:10–11And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
- Acts 3:26Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
- Gen 12:2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
- Eph 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
- Ps 43:4Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
- Gal 3:14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
- Luke 2:30–32For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
- Ps 63:2–5To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
- Ps 72:17–19His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
- 1 Chr 17:27Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and it shall be blessed for ever.
- Ps 4:6–7There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
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 21:6 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.