All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who can’t keep his soul alive.
- KJV All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
- NKJV All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
- NASB All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, All those who go down to the dust will kneel before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
- NLT Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust.
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
Both the prosperous and the dying will bow before God. Worship embraces all classes of humanity, even those who cannot preserve their own lives.
Overview
David envisions the rich and the dying alike bowing in worship, declaring that no human being, however powerful, can keep himself alive apart from God. All stand in dependence on the Lord of life. The verse points to the universal scope of Christ's lordship, before whom the living and the dead must ultimately acknowledge his reign.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Phil 2:10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
- Isa 26:19Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
- Ps 113:7He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- Ps 45:12The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; men of wealth will seek your favor.
- John 11:25–26Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- Isa 45:23By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
- Rev 20:12–15And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.
- Rom 14:10–12Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
- Isa 60:16You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breasts of royalty; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
- Isa 10:16Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
- Rev 21:24By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory.
- Hos 13:9You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me—against your helper.
- Ps 78:31God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.
- Ps 73:7From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
- Ps 72:10–11May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
- John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- Isa 29:4You will be brought low, you will speak from the ground, and out of the dust your words will be muffled. Your voice will be like a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper out of the dust.
- Isa 60:3–5Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
- Ps 49:6–9They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
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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 22:29 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
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