Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; may Your glory cover all the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be above all the earth!
- KJV Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
- NKJV Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.
- NASB Be exalted above the heavens, God; May Your glory be above all the earth.
- NLT Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth.
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
David prays that God be exalted above the heavens and his glory over all the earth. It lifts the focus from danger to God's supreme glory.
Overview
In the midst of peril, David turns to worship, asking that God be magnified above heaven and earth. This refrain shows that his deepest desire is God's glory, not merely his own rescue. Such God-centered praise rises again at the psalm's close, framing his trouble with worship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Hab 2:14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
- Isa 6:3And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.”
- Ps 72:19And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.
- Num 14:21“Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD,
- Ps 57:11Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; may Your glory cover all the earth.
- Ps 108:4–5For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
- Ps 113:4–6The LORD is exalted over all the nations, His glory above the heavens.
- Hab 3:3God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and His praise filled the earth.
- Ps 148:13Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
- Ps 8:1For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.
- Matt 6:9–10So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
- Isa 2:11The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Isa 37:20And now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
- Isa 2:17So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
- Ps 21:13Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power.
- Isa 12:4and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name! Make His works known among the peoples; declare that His name is exalted.
- 1 Chr 29:1Then King David said to the whole assembly, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.
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 57:5 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.