His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
Parallel translations
- WEB His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles.
- BSB His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.
- NKJV His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.
- NASB His lightning lit up the world; The earth saw it and trembled.
- NLT His lightning flashes out across the world. The earth sees and trembles.
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's lightning illumines the world, and the earth trembles at the sight. Creation itself responds in awe to its King.
Overview
The psalmist uses the storm imagery common in descriptions of God's majestic appearing, where lightning displays His power and the earth shakes in fear. Such language echoes Sinai and other theophanies, conveying that no part of creation is unmoved by God's presence. It calls readers to reverent fear before the One who governs the heavens and the earth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 77:18The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
- Rev 11:19And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
- Exod 19:16–18And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
- Job 9:6Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
- Ps 104:32He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
- Jer 10:10But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
- Ps 144:5–6Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
- Matt 27:50–51Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
- Rev 19:11And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
- Ps 96:9O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
- Ps 114:7Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;
- Matt 28:2–3And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
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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 97:4 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.