A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
Parallel translations
- WEB A Psalm by David. The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.
- KJV The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
- NKJV The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
- NASB The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who live in it.
- NLT The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.
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
The earth and everything in it belongs to Yahweh, including all its inhabitants. God's ownership of creation frames the whole psalm.
Overview
This psalm opens by declaring God's absolute ownership of the earth and all who dwell on it, grounded in his work as Creator. Paul quotes this verse to teach Christian freedom regarding food (1 Corinthians 10:26), affirming that all things are the Lord's. Because Christ is the one through whom all things were made, this universal lordship is ultimately his.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 89:11The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
- 1 Cor 10:26for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
- 1 Chr 29:11Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.
- Job 41:11Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
- Deut 10:14Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.
- Exod 9:29Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.
- Exod 19:5Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Ps 50:12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.
- Nah 1:5The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.
- Dan 4:25You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.
- Ps 98:7Let the sea resound, and all that fills it, the world, and all who dwell in it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 24:1 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.