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He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
Psalms 78:55 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
  • BSB He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
  • NKJV He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
  • NASB He also drove out the nations from them And apportioned them as an inheritance by measurement, And had the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
  • NLT He drove out the nations before them; he gave them their inheritance by lot. He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.

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 drove out the nations and gave Israel their inheritance. He settled His people in the promised land.

Overview

God 'drove out the nations' and allotted the land 'for an inheritance' to Israel's tribes. The conquest fulfilled His covenant promise to Abraham. This securing of an inheritance by God's power points to the imperishable inheritance kept in heaven for those who belong to Christ (1 Peter 1:4).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Josh 13:7Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh,
  • Ps 44:2How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
  • Neh 9:22–25Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.
  • Deut 6:10–12And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
  • Ps 105:44–45And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;
  • Ps 136:18–22And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
  • Josh 6:1–21Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
  • Num 33:54And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.
  • Josh 19:51These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country.
  • Ps 135:10–12Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings;
  • Josh 23:4Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 78:55YouTube · 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 78:55 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.