Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth. Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude
Parallel translations
- WEB Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth! Sing praises to the Lord! Selah.
- KJV Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto 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
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, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants. He will take vengeance on his adversaries, and will make atonement for his land and for his people.
- Ps 67:2–5That your way may be known on earth, and your salvation among all nations,
- Rom 15:10–11Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”
- Ps 117:1–2Praise Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!
- Ps 100:1A Psalm of thanksgiving. Shout for joy to Yahweh, all you lands!
- Rev 15:4Who wouldn’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For your righteous acts have been revealed.”
- Ps 102:22when the peoples are gathered together, the kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 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.