¶May the heavens be joyful, and may the earth rejoice; May the sea roar, and all it contains;
Parallel translations
- WEB Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar, and its fullness!
- KJV Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
- BSB Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea resound, and all that fills it.
- NKJV Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
- NLT Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
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
Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice, and the sea roar with praise. All creation is summoned to rejoice in God's reign.
Overview
The psalmist calls the whole created order, heavens, earth, and sea, to join in jubilant praise. Creation itself responds to the good news of God's righteous kingship. This anticipates the renewal of creation that groans for redemption and will rejoice at Christ's coming (Romans 8:19-21; Isaiah 55:12).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 49:13Sing, heavens; and be joyful, earth; and break out into singing, mountains: for Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.
- Ps 69:34Let heaven and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moves therein!
- Ps 97:1Yahweh reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad!
- Ps 98:7–9Let the sea roar with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.
- Ps 148:1–4Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh from the heavens! Praise him in the heights!
- Isa 44:23Sing, you heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, all of your trees, for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.
- Luke 15:10Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.”
- Luke 2:13–14Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,
- Rev 19:1–7After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God:
- Luke 2:10The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.
- Rev 12:12Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”
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 96:11 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.