And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB The heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah.
- KJV And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
- NKJV Let the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is Judge. Selah
- NASB And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. Selah
- NLT Then let the heavens proclaim his justice, for God himself will be the judge. Interlude
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 heavens proclaim God's righteousness, for He Himself is Judge. His verdict is perfectly just.
Overview
Heaven declares God's righteousness because God personally presides as Judge—there is no higher court. The 'Selah' invites reflection on the certainty and justice of His judgment. That the Judge of all the earth does right gives believers both warning and comfort, for the same righteous Judge is their Redeemer in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 97:6The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory.
- Ps 89:5The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD—Your faithfulness as well—in the assembly of the holy ones.
- Ps 75:7but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
- Rev 19:2For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.”
- Rom 14:9–12For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
- Ps 9:16The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
- Rev 20:11–12Then 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.
- Gen 18:25Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
- Ps 7:3–5O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands,
- 2 Cor 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Rom 2:5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
- John 5:22–23Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son,
- Rev 16:5–7And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments.
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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 50:6 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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