But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
Parallel translations
- WEB But God is the judge. He puts down one, and lifts up another.
- BSB but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts 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 hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
- Dan 2:21–22And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
- Ps 147:6The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
- Ps 113:7–8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
- 2 Sam 6:21And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD.
- Ps 50:6And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
- 1 Sam 2:7–8The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
- Jer 27:4–8And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;
- John 15:16Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
- 1 Sam 16:1And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
- Ps 58:11So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
- 1 Sam 15:28And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
- 1 Sam 15:23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
- Dan 2:37Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
- 2 Sam 5:2Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.
- Gal 1:15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
- 2 Sam 3:17–18And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you:
- Dan 5:18O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
- Rom 11:15For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
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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 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.