All worshipers of images are put to shame—those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
Parallel translations
- WEB Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!
- KJV Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
- NKJV Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.
- NASB ¶May all those be ashamed who serve carved images, Who boast in idols; Worship Him, all you gods.
- NLT Those who worship idols are disgraced— all who brag about their worthless gods— for every god must bow to him.
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
Idolaters are put to shame, and the LORD alone is to be worshiped. Every false god must bow before Him.
Overview
The psalm contrasts the futility of idol worship with the supremacy of the true God, declaring shame on those who trust carved images. The call for 'all you gods' to worship Him affirms God's sovereignty over every supposed power. Hebrews 1:6 applies this verse to Christ, summoning the angels to worship the Son, underscoring His full deity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Jer 10:14Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Heb 1:6And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”
- Isa 42:17But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.
- Lev 26:1“You must not make idols for yourselves or set up a carved image or sacred pillar; you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the LORD your God.
- Rev 5:11–14Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.
- Isa 44:9–11All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
- Exod 20:4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
- Isa 41:29See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.
- 2 Chr 3:13So the total wingspan of these cherubim was twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main room.
- Isa 37:18–19Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.
- Deut 27:15‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Exod 25:20And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the mercy seat.
- Rev 14:8–10Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
- 1 Pet 1:12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
- Deut 5:8You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
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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 97:7 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.