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¶Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has inflicted horrific events on the earth.
Psalms 46:8 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Come, see Yahweh’s works, what desolations he has made in the earth.
  • KJV Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath 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.
  • 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 God’s deeds — awesome work on behalf of the children of men.
  • Isa 24:1Behold, Yahweh makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants.
  • Isa 61:4They will rebuild the old ruins. They will raise up the places long devastated. They will repair the ruined cities, that have been devastated for many generations.
  • Ps 92:4–6For you, Yahweh, have made me glad through your work. I will triumph in the works of your hands.
  • Isa 34:2–17For Yahweh is enraged against all the nations, and angry with all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over for slaughter.
  • Ps 111:2–3Yahweh’s works are great, pondered by all those who delight in them.
  • Exod 12:30Pharaoh 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 Yahweh to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
  • 2 Chr 20:23–24For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them: and when they had finished the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another.
  • Exod 10:7Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh, their God. Don’t you yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”
  • Num 23:23Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘What has God done!’
  • Exod 14:30–31Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

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 46:8YouTube · 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 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

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.