but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
Parallel translations
- WEB But God is the judge. He puts down one, and lifts up another.
- KJV But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
- NKJV But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.
- NASB But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.
- NLT It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.
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 is the true Judge who puts down one and lifts up another, ruling over every rise and fall.
Overview
This is the heart of the psalm: God alone determines who is humbled and who is raised. All authority and standing come from His sovereign decree, not from human power plays. This truth gives hope to the humble and warning to the proud, and finds its supreme display in God exalting the crucified Christ to highest honor.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Luke 1:52He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.
- Dan 2:21–22He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- Ps 147:6The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.
- Ps 113:7–8He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- 2 Sam 6:21But David said to Michal, “I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me over your father and all his house when He appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the LORD,
- Ps 50:6And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah
- 1 Sam 2:7–8The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
- Jer 27:4–8Give them a message from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to relay to their masters:
- John 15:16You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
- 1 Sam 16:1Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
- Ps 58:11Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
- 1 Sam 15:28So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
- 1 Sam 15:23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
- Dan 2:37You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
- 2 Sam 5:2Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the LORD said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”
- Gal 1:15But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
- 2 Sam 3:17–18Now Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “In the past you sought David as your king.
- Dan 5:18As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.
- Rom 11:15For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 75:7 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.