Limitless Word
Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
Psalms 24:9 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Lift up your heads, you gates; yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.
  • KJV Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
  • BSB Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may enter!
  • NASB Lift up your heads, you gates, And lift them 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 summons to open the everlasting doors is repeated, heightening the anticipation of the King's entry. Repetition underscores the glory of the coming King.

Overview

This verse echoes the earlier call for the gates to lift up and receive the King of glory, a poetic repetition that builds solemn expectation. The doubling emphasizes the certainty and majesty of God's coming to his dwelling. It continues the picture of the triumphant King whom believers identify with the ascended and exalted Christ.

Cross-references & the web

No cross-references recorded for this verse.

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 24:9YouTube · 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 24:9 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.