I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will also appoint him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
- KJV Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
- NKJV Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
- NASB “I will also make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
- NLT I will make him my firstborn son, the mightiest king on earth.
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
God will make the king His firstborn, the highest of all earthly kings.
Overview
"Firstborn" denotes preeminence and inheritance rights, not merely birth order. The Davidic king is given supremacy among the kings of the earth. The New Testament applies this directly to Christ, the firstborn over all creation and ruler of earth's kings (Col. 1:15; Rev. 1:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Col 1:15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- Col 1:18And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.
- Rev 19:16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
- Rom 8:29For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
- Ps 2:7I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.
- Ps 72:11May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.
- Num 24:7Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will have abundant water. His king will be greater than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted.
- Exod 4:22Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,
- Ps 2:10–12Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth.
- Isa 49:7Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”
- 2 Chr 1:12therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”
- 2 Chr 9:23–24All the kings of the earth sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.
- Rev 21:24By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory.
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 89:27 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.