Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
Parallel translations
- KJV Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
- BSB Envoys will arrive from Egypt; Cush will stretch out her hands to God.
- NKJV Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
- NASB Messengers will come from Egypt; Cush will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
- NLT Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals; let Ethiopia bring tribute to God.
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
Even Egypt and Ethiopia will come to worship and submit to God. It foretells distant nations turning to the Lord.
Overview
David anticipates envoys from Egypt and Cush stretching out their hands to God, a picture of Gentile nations seeking the true God. This hope of the nations' inclusion threads through the Old Testament. It is realized in the gospel, as seen for instance in the Ethiopian official's conversion (Acts 8), when the good news reaches the ends of the earth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 45:14Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else. There is no other god.
- Zeph 3:10From beyond the rivers of Cush, my worshipers, even the daughter of my dispersed people, will bring my offering.
- Acts 8:27–40He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship.
- Ps 44:20If we have forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god;
- Isa 19:18–25In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Yahweh of Armies. One will be called “The city of destruction.”
- Ps 72:8–11He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
- Ps 143:6I spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.
- Isa 60:6–7A multitude of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. All from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh.
- Ps 88:9My eyes are dim from grief. I have called on you daily, Yahweh. I have spread out my hands to you.
- Isa 66:19“I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to far-away islands, who have not heard my fame, nor have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
- 1 Kgs 8:22Solomon stood before Yahweh’s altar in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;
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 68:31 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.