Faithfulness sprouts from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.
Parallel translations
- WEB Truth springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked down from heaven.
- KJV Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
- NKJV Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
- NASB Truth sprouts from the earth, And righteousness looks down from heaven.
- NLT Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
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
Truth springs up from the earth while righteousness looks down from heaven. God's faithfulness joins earth and heaven in His restoring work.
Overview
Continuing the imagery of v. 10, this verse pictures a harmony between the human and divine spheres as truth and righteousness meet. It conveys the flourishing that follows God's reconciling favor. Many read it as anticipating the incarnation, where heaven's righteousness comes down and truth springs up in the person of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- John 14:6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Isa 45:8Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it.
- 1 Jn 5:20–21And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
- Isa 42:21The LORD was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify His law and make it glorious.
- Matt 17:5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
- Eph 1:6to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- Matt 3:17And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
- Isa 4:2On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors.
- 2 Cor 5:21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Luke 2:14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”
- Isa 53:2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 85:11 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.