Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may enter!
Parallel translations
- WEB Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.
- KJV Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
- NKJV Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
- NASB ¶Lift up your heads, you gates, And be lifted up, you ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
- NLT Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.
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 ancient gates are commanded to open wide for the King of glory to enter. It is a triumphant summons to receive the LORD as King.
Overview
The scene shifts to a royal procession in which the city gates are called to lift up and admit the King of glory, likely picturing the ark's entry into the sanctuary. The language conveys the majesty of God coming to dwell among his people. Christians have long seen here a foreshadowing of Christ's ascension and his triumphant entry as the reigning King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Isa 26:2Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter—one that remains faithful.
- Ps 118:19–20Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter and give thanks to the LORD.
- Ps 97:6The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory.
- Rev 4:11“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be.”
- 1 Cor 2:8None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
- Eph 4:8–10This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”
- Mal 3:1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Hag 2:7I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Num 10:35–36Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, “Rise up, O LORD! May Your enemies be scattered; may those who hate You flee before You.”
- 1 Kgs 8:11so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
- 1 Pet 3:22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.
- Hag 2:9The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, says the LORD of Hosts. And in this place I will provide peace, declares the LORD of Hosts.”
- Ps 68:16–18Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling, where the LORD will surely dwell forever.
- 2 Sam 6:17So they brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
- Mark 16:19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
- Ps 132:8Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.
- 2 Pet 3:18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
- 1 Kgs 8:6Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
- Jas 2:1My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.
- Ps 21:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation!
- Ps 21:5Great is his glory in Your salvation; You bestow on him splendor and majesty.
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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 24:7 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.