He rules forever by His power; His eyes watch the nations. Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB He rules by his might forever. His eyes watch the nations. Don’t let the rebellious rise up against him. Selah.
- KJV He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
- NKJV He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
- NASB He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; The rebellious shall not exalt themselves! Selah
- NLT For by his great power he rules forever. He watches every movement of the nations; let no rebel rise in defiance. 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
God rules forever by His might, watching the nations, and the rebellious should not exalt themselves. It declares God's eternal, watchful sovereignty.
Overview
The psalmist affirms God's everlasting rule and His eyes that keep watch over the nations, warning the rebellious not to rise up. God's sovereignty is both comforting and sobering, marked again by 'Selah.' His reign is established forever in the kingdom of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Ps 11:4The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.
- Matt 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
- 2 Chr 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”
- Ps 75:4–5I say to the proud, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.
- Ps 33:13The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
- Ps 140:8Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not promote their evil plans, lest they be exalted. Selah
- Ps 62:11God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,
- Job 9:4God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
- Dan 5:20–28But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.
- Dan 4:35All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”
- Matt 6:13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
- Isa 10:7–16But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.
- Isa 37:28–29But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me.
- Dan 6:26–27I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.
- Ps 52:1–5For the choirmaster. A Maskil of David. After Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.” Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.
- Ps 2:10–12Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth.
- Ps 73:3–12For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Ps 145:13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His actions.
- Exod 18:11Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”
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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 66:7 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.