Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.
Parallel translations
- WEB Arise, God, judge the earth, for you inherit all of the nations.
- KJV Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.
- BSB Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.
- NASB Arise, God, judge the earth! For You possess all the nations.
- NLT Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you.
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
The psalmist calls on God to arise and judge the earth, for all nations are His inheritance. The cry looks to God as the only true and final Judge.
Overview
Since human judges have failed, the psalm ends pleading for God Himself to take up the judgment of the whole earth. All nations belong to Him by right, so He alone can establish true justice. This longing is answered in Christ, to whom all judgment has been given and who will one day rule the nations in righteousness (cf. John 5:22; Rev. 11:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Rev 11:15The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!”
- Ps 2:8Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
- Ps 96:13before Yahweh; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth.
- Ps 22:28For the kingdom is Yahweh’s. He is the ruler over the nations.
- Ps 102:13You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come.
- Ps 12:5“Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in safety from those who malign him.”
- Ps 44:26Rise up to help us. Redeem us for your loving kindness’ sake.
- Zeph 3:8“Therefore wait for me”, says Yahweh, “until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
- Mic 7:7But as for me, I will look to Yahweh. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- Mic 7:2The godly man has perished out of the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net.
- Isa 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster?
- Ps 7:6Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.
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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 82:8 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.