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For you, O Lord, are supreme over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
Psalms 97:9 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB For you, Yahweh, are most high above all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods.
  • KJV For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
  • BSB For You, O LORD, are Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
  • NKJV For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
  • NASB For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.

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 LORD is Most High over all the earth, exalted far above every other so-called god. He has no rival.

Overview

This verse summarizes the psalm's theme of God's absolute supremacy over creation and all false deities. The title 'Most High' (Elyon) emphasizes His transcendence and unmatched authority. Such truth grounds worship and trust, for the God who rules over all is the God who saves His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Ps 95:3For Yahweh is a great God, a great King above all gods.
  • Ps 83:18that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.
  • Exod 18:11Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods because of the thing in which they dealt arrogantly against them.”
  • Jer 10:10But Yahweh is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles, and the nations are not able to withstand his indignation.
  • Phil 2:9–11Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
  • Ps 135:5For I know that Yahweh is great, that our Lord is above all gods.
  • Eph 1:21far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
  • Ps 96:4For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised! He is to be feared above all gods.
  • Jer 10:8But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just wood.
  • Ps 115:3–8But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.

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 97:9YouTube · 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 97:9 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.