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Blessed are those who know the joyful sound, who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.
Psalms 89:15 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh.
  • KJV Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
  • NKJV Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
  • NASB Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! Lord, they walk in the light of Your face.
  • NLT Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

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

Truly blessed are those who know how to praise God; they live in the light of His favorable presence.

Overview

The "joyful sound" (acclaim) likely echoes the festal trumpet blasts that summoned Israel to worship. To know God is to have learned to praise Him, and such worshipers enjoy His presence as light for their path. This anticipates the fuller light brought in Christ, in whose face the glory of God shines (2 Cor. 4:6).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Ps 44:3For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.
  • Ps 4:6Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
  • Job 29:3when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,
  • Ps 100:1A Psalm of thanksgiving. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
  • Acts 2:28You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’
  • Isa 52:7–8How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
  • Isa 2:5Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
  • Num 6:26may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’
  • Lev 25:9Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land.
  • Num 10:10And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.”
  • Num 23:21He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them.
  • John 14:21–23Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
  • Rev 21:23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
  • Prov 16:15When a king’s face brightens, there is life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.
  • Ps 90:6in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.
  • Ps 98:4–6Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises!
  • Nah 1:15Look to the mountains—the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be utterly cut off.
  • Rom 10:18But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
  • Rom 10:15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
  • Luke 2:10–14But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 89:15YouTube · 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 89:15 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.