He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
Parallel translations
- WEB He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people:
- BSB He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people:
- NKJV He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
- NASB He summons the heavens above, And the earth, to judge His people:
- NLT He calls on the heavens above and earth below to witness the judgment of his people.
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 calls heaven and earth as witnesses while He judges His people. Creation itself attests to the justice of His verdict.
Overview
In the form of a covenant lawsuit, God summons the heavens and earth as witnesses against Israel, a pattern seen in Deuteronomy 32. This underscores the legal solemnity of the indictment. God's judgment of His own people is not arbitrary but witnessed and righteous.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 1:2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
- Deut 32:1Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- Deut 31:28Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
- Deut 30:19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
- Deut 4:26I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
- Mic 6:1–2Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
- John 5:22–23For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
- Ps 98:9Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
- Isa 11:3–4And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
- Deut 4:36Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
- Ps 50:6And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
- Ps 96:13Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
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 50:4 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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