God reigns above the nations, sitting 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.
- BSB God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.
- NKJV God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.
- NASB God reigns over the nations, God sits 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 let the earth rejoice! Let them say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns!”
- Rev 19:6I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!
- Ps 45:6–7Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.
- Ps 93:1Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can’t be moved.
- Ps 96:10Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns.” The world is also established. It can’t be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.
- Ps 22:27–29All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
- Ps 110:6He will judge among the nations. He will heap up dead bodies. He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
- Ps 89:14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loving kindness and truth go before your face.
- Rev 20:11I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
- Ps 99:1Yahweh reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned among the cherubim. Let the earth be moved.
- Ps 9:4For you have maintained my just cause. You sit on the throne judging righteously.
- Ps 97:1Yahweh reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad!
- Ps 48:1A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
- Ps 94:20Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you, which brings about mischief by statute?
- Heb 4:16Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 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.