Righteousness goes before him, And prepares the way for his steps.
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.
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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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,
- 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.
- Phil 2:5–8Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
- Matt 20:27–28Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant,
- Ps 119:35Direct me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in them.
- John 13:14–16If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
- Eph 5:1–2Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.
- Ps 72:2–3He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
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 85:13 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.