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Righteousness goes before him, And prepares the way for his steps.
Psalms 85:13 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.
  • BSB Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.
  • NKJV Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
  • NASB Righteousness will go before Him And will make His footsteps into a way.
  • NLT Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps.

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.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Ps 89:14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loving kindness and truth go before your face.
  • John 13:34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.
  • 1 Jn 2:6he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
  • 1 Pet 2:18–24Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the wicked.
  • 1 Pet 4:1Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin;
  • 2 Cor 3:18But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
  • Gal 2:20I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
  • Eph 5:1–2Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.
  • Heb 12:1–2Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
  • Phil 2:5–8Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
  • Isa 58:8Then your light will break out as the morning, and your healing will appear quickly; then your righteousness shall go before you; and Yahweh’s glory will be your rear guard.
  • Ps 119:35Direct me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in them.
  • Matt 20:27–28Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant,
  • John 13:14–16If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
  • Ps 72:2–3He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.

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 85:13YouTube · 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 85:13 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.