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He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
Psalms 78:13 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap.
  • KJV He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
  • BSB He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
  • NASB He divided the sea and caused them to pass through, And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
  • NLT For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls!

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 split the sea, led them through, and made the waters stand like a heap.

Overview

This recalls the climactic Red Sea deliverance, when God divided the waters so Israel could pass safely. The waters standing as a heap displays God's complete mastery over creation for His people's salvation. This foundational act of redemption foreshadows the greater deliverance from sin accomplished in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Exod 14:21Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
  • Exod 15:8With the blast of your nostrils, the waters were piled up. The floods stood upright as a heap. The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
  • Josh 3:16the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people passed over near Jericho.
  • Ps 66:6He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot. There, we rejoiced in him.
  • Ps 136:13–15To him who divided the Red Sea apart; for his loving kindness endures forever;
  • Ps 106:9–10He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
  • 1 Cor 10:2–3and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
  • Hab 3:15You trampled the sea with your horses, churning mighty waters.
  • Ps 38:7For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh.
  • Isa 63:13Who led them through the depths, like a horse in the wilderness, so that they didn’t stumble?
  • Exod 14:1–15Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 78:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 78:13 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.