Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples justly and lead the nations of the earth. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with equity, and govern the nations on earth. Selah.
- KJV O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
- NKJV Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah
- NASB May the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with fairness And guide the nations on the earth. Selah
- NLT Let the whole world sing for joy, because you govern the nations with justice and guide the people of the whole world. 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
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy because God judges and guides them justly. It grounds the nations' joy in God's righteous rule.
Overview
The psalmist calls the nations to rejoice because God judges with equity and governs them on earth. God's just and gracious rule is cause for global gladness, marked by 'Selah.' This righteous reign is established in Christ, the King who will judge the world in righteousness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 98:9before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.
- Rom 15:10–11Again, it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”
- Ps 9:8He judges the world with justice; He governs the people with equity.
- Isa 42:10–12Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them.
- Ps 138:4–5All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth.
- Ps 82:6I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
- Isa 24:14–16They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD.
- Deut 32:43Rejoice, O heavens, with Him, and let all God’s angels worship Him. Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His children. He will take vengeance on His adversaries and repay those who hate Him; He will cleanse His land and His people.
- Ps 96:10Declare among the nations: “The LORD reigns!” The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.
- 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.
- Ps 2:8Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
- 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?”
- Isa 55:4Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples.
- Acts 17:31For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
- Rev 11:15–17Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”
- Gal 4:27For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”
- Isa 54:1“Shout for joy, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth in song and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD.
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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 67:4 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
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.