Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
Parallel translations
- WEB Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth! Sing praises to the Lord! Selah.
- BSB Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord—Selah
- NKJV Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
- NASB ¶Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, Sing praises to the Lord, Selah
- NLT Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth. Sing praises to the Lord. 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
All the kingdoms of the earth are summoned to sing praises to God. It calls the whole world, not just Israel, to worship the Lord.
Overview
The psalm widens its scope, inviting every kingdom of the earth to sing to the Lord. God's praise is meant to be universal, for he is sovereign over all nations. The Selah invites pause and reflection. This global call to worship anticipates the gospel command to make disciples of all nations who will praise Christ as Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 32:43Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
- Ps 67:2–5That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
- Rom 15:10–11And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
- Ps 117:1–2O Praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
- Ps 100:1Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
- Rev 15:4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
- Ps 102:22When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
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 68:32 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.