Limitless Word
Be exalted above the heavens, God; May Your glory be above all the earth.
Psalms 57:5 · New American Standard Bible
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.
  • BSB Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; may Your glory cover all the earth.
  • NKJV Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let 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 Yahweh’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.
  • Isa 6:3One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
  • Ps 72:19Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen.
  • Num 14:21but in very deed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with Yahweh’s glory;
  • Ps 57:11Be exalted, God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
  • Ps 108:4–5For your loving kindness is great above the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
  • Ps 113:4–6Yahweh is high above all nations, his glory above the heavens.
  • Hab 3:3God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth.
  • Ps 148:13let them praise Yahweh’s name, for his name alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and the heavens.
  • Ps 8:1For the Chief Musician; on an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by David. Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who has set your glory above the heavens!
  • Matt 6:9–10Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
  • Isa 2:11The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the haughtiness of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
  • Isa 37:20Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh, even you only.”
  • Isa 2:17The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day.
  • Ps 21:13Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength, so we will sing and praise your power.
  • Isa 12:4In that day you will say, “Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name. Declare his doings among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted!
  • 1 Chr 29:1David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Yahweh God.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 57:5YouTube · 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 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.