Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
Parallel translations
- WEB You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them.
- BSB You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.
- NKJV You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
- NASB You rule the surging of the sea; When its waves rise, You calm them.
- NLT You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves.
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 rules the raging sea and calms its rising waves. He holds sovereign power over the forces of chaos.
Overview
The verse celebrates God's dominion over the sea, an ancient symbol of chaos and threat. His mastery shows His unrivaled power over creation. This same authority is displayed by Christ, who stilled the storm and the sea, revealing Himself as the LORD of creation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 65:7Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
- Ps 107:25–29For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
- Mark 4:41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
- Matt 8:24–27And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
- Mark 4:39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
- Ps 93:3–4The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
- Job 38:8–11Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
- Ps 29:10The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
- Nah 1:4He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
- Matt 14:32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
- Ps 66:5–6Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 89:9 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.