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The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
Psalms 99:1 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned among the cherubim. Let the earth be moved.
  • BSB The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!
  • NKJV The Lord reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved!
  • NASB The Lord reigns, the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned above the cherubim, the earth quakes!
  • NLT The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Let the whole earth quake!

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 reigns enthroned above the cherubim, so let the peoples tremble. His holy kingship demands reverent awe.

Overview

This enthronement psalm proclaims God as King, seated above the cherubim over the ark, the place of His earthly throne. The trembling of peoples and the shaking earth express the proper response to His holy majesty. His sovereign reign foreshadows the universal kingdom of Christ, before whom all will one day bow.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 25

  • Ps 97:1The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
  • Exod 25:22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
  • Ps 97:4His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
  • Ps 80:1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
  • Ps 93:1The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
  • Rev 20:11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
  • Jer 49:21The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.
  • Luke 19:12He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
  • Ps 96:10Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.
  • Ps 18:10And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
  • Jer 4:24I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
  • Rev 11:17Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
  • Jer 50:46At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
  • Luke 19:27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
  • Isa 19:14The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
  • Ps 2:11–12Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
  • Jer 5:22Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
  • Ps 2:6Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
  • Luke 19:14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
  • Phil 2:12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
  • Rev 6:14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
  • Ps 21:8–9Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
  • Isa 24:19–20The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
  • Ps 82:5They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
  • Ezek 10:1–22Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 99:1YouTube · 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 99:1 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.