Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Come, see Yahweh’s works, what desolations he has made in the earth.
- BSB Come, see the works of the LORD, who brings devastation upon the earth.
- NKJV Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth.
- NASB ¶Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has inflicted horrific events on the earth.
- NLT Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: See how he brings destruction upon the world.
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 people are invited to come and behold Yahweh's works, the desolations He brings on the earth. It matters because God's mighty acts vindicate His sovereignty.
Overview
The summons to 'come and see' calls God's people to witness His powerful deeds in judgment, which bring proud opposition to ruin. These desolations are not random destruction but the just acts of the sovereign Lord. They display the same power that in Christ will finally overthrow all evil and establish God's righteous reign.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 66:5Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
- Isa 24:1Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
- Isa 61:4And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
- Ps 92:4–6For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
- Isa 34:2–17For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
- Ps 111:2–3The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
- Exod 12:30And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
- Josh 11:20For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
- 2 Chr 20:23–24For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
- Exod 10:7And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
- Num 23:23Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
- Exod 14:30–31Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
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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 46:8 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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