To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
Parallel translations
- WEB To him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice.
- BSB to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old; behold, His mighty voice resounds.
- NKJV To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
- NASB To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times; Behold, He speaks with His voice, a mighty voice.
- NLT Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens, his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
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 rides upon the ancient heavens and speaks with a mighty voice. It exalts his transcendent power and majesty.
Overview
David pictures God riding through the highest heavens, his thundering voice declaring his power. The imagery underscores his sovereignty over creation and history. The God who rides the heavens is the same Lord whose voice spoke creation into being and who, in Christ, speaks the word of salvation that no power can silence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 18:10And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
- Ps 104:3Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
- Ps 68:4Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
- 1 Kgs 8:27But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
- Rev 11:19And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
- Deut 33:26There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
- John 12:28–29Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
- Ps 93:2Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
- Rev 11:15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
- Ps 29:3–9The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
- Ps 77:17–18The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
- Ps 102:25Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
- Deut 10:14Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
- Ps 46:6The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
- Rev 11:12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
- Ezek 10:5And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.
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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 68:33 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
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