Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
Parallel translations
- WEB Exalt Yahweh our God. Worship at his footstool. He is Holy!
- BSB Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy!
- NKJV Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His footstool— He is holy.
- NASB Exalt the Lord our God And worship at His footstool; Holy is He.
- NLT Exalt the Lord our God! Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!
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
Exalt the LORD and worship at His footstool, for He is holy. Worship is the right response to His holiness.
Overview
The call to worship at God's footstool refers to bowing before His throne or temple, where His presence dwelt. The repeated declaration 'He is holy' grounds this reverence in God's transcendent purity. Believers now worship the holy God with confidence through Christ, who opened the way into His presence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 132:7We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
- Isa 66:1Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
- Exod 15:2The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
- Ps 108:5Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;
- Ps 34:3O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
- Isa 12:4And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
- Isa 25:1O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
- Ps 99:3Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.
- Ps 99:9Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
- Ps 21:13Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
- Lev 19:2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
- 1 Chr 28:2Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:
- Ps 118:28Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
- Ps 107:32Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
- Hos 11:7And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 99:5 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.