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Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Psalms 50:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines out.
  • BSB From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
  • NKJV Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.
  • NASB Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone.
  • NLT From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance.

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

From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth in glory. His presence radiates from the place He has chosen.

Overview

God appears in splendor from Zion, called 'the perfection of beauty' because it is where He dwells among His people. The shining imagery recalls the glory that filled the tabernacle and temple. Ultimately God's glory shines most fully in Christ and in the heavenly Zion, the city of the living God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Ps 48:2Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
  • Rev 21:23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
  • Ps 80:1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
  • Rev 1:16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
  • Hab 3:3–4God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
  • Deut 33:2And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
  • Lam 2:15All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
  • Hab 2:20But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
  • Hos 5:15I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
  • Song 5:16His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
  • Isa 12:6Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
  • Ps 94:1O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
  • Ps 87:2–3The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
  • Isa 26:21For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
  • Ps 68:24They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
  • Heb 12:22–26But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
  • Ps 80:17Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
  • Zech 9:17For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

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 50:2YouTube · 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 50:2 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.