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But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.
Psalms 92:12 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
  • KJV The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
  • BSB The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
  • NKJV The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
  • NASB The righteous person will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

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

The righteous flourish like a palm tree and grow strong like a cedar of Lebanon. Those who trust God enjoy enduring, fruitful, stable life.

Overview

In contrast to the short-lived grass of the wicked (v.7), the righteous are pictured as long-lived, fruitful, and majestic trees. The palm bears fruit and the cedar stands tall and strong, images of lasting vitality rooted in God. This flourishing finds its source in being united to Christ, the true vine (John 15:5; Psalm 1:3).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • Jer 17:8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat comes, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
  • Ps 1:3He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
  • Ps 104:16Yahweh’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted;
  • Ps 52:8But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in God’s house. I trust in God’s loving kindness forever and ever.
  • Hos 14:5–6I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.
  • Amos 2:9Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
  • Num 24:6As valleys they are spread out, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which Yahweh has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters.
  • Isa 65:22They will not build, and another inhabit. They will not plant, and another eat: for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and my chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands.
  • Ps 72:7In his days, the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
  • Isa 55:13Instead of the thorn the cypress tree will come up; and instead of the brier the myrtle tree will come up: and it will make a name for Yahweh, for an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.”
  • Ps 92:7though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
  • 1 Kgs 6:29He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inside and outside.
  • 1 Kgs 4:33He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.
  • Ps 148:9mountains and all hills; fruit trees and all cedars;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 92:12YouTube · 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 92:12 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.