You have exalted the right hand of his foes; You have made all his enemies rejoice.
Parallel translations
- WEB You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice.
- KJV Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
- NKJV You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice.
- NASB You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice.
- NLT You have strengthened his enemies and made them all rejoice.
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 has allowed the king's enemies to triumph and rejoice over him.
Overview
The "right hand" of the adversaries, their power, has been lifted, and foes celebrate the king's downfall. The psalmist sees God's hand even in this reversal. Yet the gospel reveals that the enemies' apparent triumph over God's Anointed at the cross became the means of their defeat (Col. 2:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Rev 11:10And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.
- Ps 80:6You make us contend with our neighbors; our enemies mock us.
- Lev 26:25And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
- Ps 13:2How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me?
- Lam 2:17The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and exalted the horn of your foes.
- Deut 28:43The foreigner living among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink down lower and lower.
- Deut 28:25The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Lev 26:17And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
- John 16:20Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
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 89:42 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.