I will enter in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will proclaim Your righteousness—Yours alone.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh. I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone.
- KJV I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
- NKJV I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
- NASB I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
- NLT I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord. I will tell everyone that you alone are just.
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
The psalmist comes relying on the Lord's own mighty deeds and boasts only in God's righteousness, not his own.
Overview
He approaches God in the strength of what the Sovereign Lord has done, not in personal merit. By making mention of God's righteousness 'alone,' he disowns any self-righteousness, a posture central to biblical faith. This points forward to the gospel, in which sinners are accepted not by their own works but by the righteousness of God given through Christ (Philippians 3:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- Phil 4:13I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Phil 3:9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
- Zech 10:12I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.
- Ps 29:11The LORD gives His people strength; the LORD blesses His people with peace.
- Matt 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Ps 51:14Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
- Ps 71:2In Your justice, rescue and deliver me; incline Your ear and save me.
- Ps 71:24My tongue will indeed proclaim Your righteousness all day long, for those who seek my harm are disgraced and confounded.
- Eph 3:16I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
- Eph 6:10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- Ps 71:15My mouth will declare Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot know their full measure.
- Isa 63:7I will make known the LORD’s loving devotion and His praiseworthy acts, because of all that the LORD has done for us—the many good things for the house of Israel according to His great compassion and loving devotion.
- 2 Th 1:6After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
- Isa 40:31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Deut 33:25May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and may your strength match your days.”
- Rom 1:17For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
- Isa 45:24–25Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.
- 2 Tim 2:1You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
- Ps 71:19Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O God, You who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You?
- Ps 106:2Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORD or fully proclaim His praise?
- Rom 10:3Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
- Isa 26:13O LORD our God, other lords besides You have had dominion, but Your name alone do we confess.
- Rom 3:21But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.
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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 71:16 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.