They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
Parallel translations
- WEB Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust.
- BSB May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
- NKJV Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust.
- NASB May the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust.
- NLT Desert nomads will bow before him; his enemies will fall before him in the dust.
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
Desert dwellers will bow before the king and his enemies will lick the dust in submission.
Overview
Even remote peoples and proud foes are pictured yielding to the king's rule. The imagery depicts total submission to a sovereign whom God has exalted. This anticipates the day when every knee will bow before Christ, whether in glad worship or in defeated subjection (Philippians 2:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 49:23And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
- Mic 7:17They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.
- 1 Kgs 9:20–21And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,
- Ps 2:9Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
- Ps 110:6He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
- Ps 110:1The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
- Isa 35:1–2The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
- Ps 21:8–9Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
- Luke 19:27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
- 1 Kgs 9:18And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,
- Ps 22:29All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
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 72:9 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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