God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.
Parallel translations
- WEB God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne.
- KJV God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
- NKJV God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.
- NASB God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.
- NLT God reigns above the nations, sitting on his holy throne.
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
God reigns over the nations, seated on His holy throne. It matters because God's sovereign rule over all peoples is certain and established.
Overview
The verse affirms God's present reign over all nations from His holy throne. His kingship is not merely future hope but settled reality. In Christ this rule is made visible, for the ascended Lord is enthroned in heaven, reigning until every nation acknowledges Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Chr 16:31Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice. Let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’
- Rev 19:6And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
- Ps 45:6–7Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
- Ps 93:1The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
- Ps 96:10Declare among the nations: “The LORD reigns!” The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.
- Ps 22:27–29All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Ps 110:6He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide.
- Ps 89:14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
- Rev 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Ps 99:1The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!
- Ps 9:4For You have upheld my just cause; You sit on Your throne judging righteously.
- Ps 97:1The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the distant shores be glad.
- Ps 48:1A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain.
- Ps 94:20Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—one devising mischief by decree?
- Heb 4:16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 47:8 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.