Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.
Parallel translations
- WEB Righteousness goes before him, And prepares the way for his steps.
- KJV Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of 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.
Quick answer
Righteousness goes before God and prepares the way for His steps. Where God comes, His righteous character leads the way.
Overview
The psalm closes by personifying righteousness as a herald going before the LORD, marking out the path of His advance. It pictures God's coming as the coming of holiness and justice. This anticipates the gospel, where the way of the Lord is prepared and where Christ comes establishing righteousness for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 89:14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
- John 13:34A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
- 1 Jn 2:6Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
- 1 Pet 2:18–24Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable.
- Gal 2:20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
- 1 Pet 4:1Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
- 2 Cor 3:18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- Heb 12:1–2Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.
- Isa 58:8Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
- Phil 2:5–8Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
- Matt 20:27–28and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—
- Ps 119:35Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for there I find delight.
- John 13:14–16So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
- Eph 5:1–2Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,
- Ps 72:2–3May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.