Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son.
Parallel translations
- WEB By Solomon. God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son.
- KJV Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
- BSB Of Solomon. Endow the king with Your justice, O God, and the son of the king with Your righteousness.
- NKJV Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
- NASB Give the king Your judgments, God, And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
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 psalm prays that God would grant the king his own justice and righteousness, so that the king might rule as God does.
Overview
This royal psalm, associated with Solomon, asks God to endow the king with divine justice. A righteous reign depends on God-given justice, not mere human wisdom. While Solomon partly fulfilled this, its ideal points beyond any earthly king to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the truly righteous King whose reign perfectly embodies God's justice (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 23:5–6“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
- 1 Chr 22:12–13May Yahweh give you discretion and understanding, and put you in charge of Israel; that so you may keep the law of Yahweh your God.
- 2 Chr 1:10Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of yours?”
- 1 Chr 29:19and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.”
- 1 Kgs 1:39Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said, “Long live king Solomon!”
- Isa 11:2Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.
- Ps 127:1A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
- John 3:34For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.
- Heb 1:8–9But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
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 72:1 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.