English · KJV

Psalm 76:9

“The Awesome Judgment of the Lord”Psalm 76:7–9

King James Version
When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
When God H430 arose H6965 to judgment H4941, to save H3467 all the meek H6035 of the earth H776. Selah H5542.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
when God rose up to judge, to save all the lowly of the earth. Selah

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
When God arose to judgment, To save all the meek of the earth. [Selah

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
when God arose to judgment, to save all the afflicted ones of the earth. Selah.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
When thou, O God, arose to iudgement, to helpe all the meeke of the earth. Selah.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
In the rising of God to judgment, To save all the humble of earth. Selah.

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
8 Hebrew words
  1. בְּקוּםbe·kumwhen aroseH6965Prep-b ¦ V-Qal-InfVerb Qal Infinitive Constructבְּwhenקוּםarose
  2. לַמִּשְׁפָּטla·mish·Patfor [the] judgmentH4941Prep-l ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteלַfor [the]מִּשְׁפָּטjudgment
  3. אֱלֹהִים'E·lo·HimGodH430N-mpNoun Plural Masculine Absolute
  4. לְהוֹשִׁיעַle·ho·Shi·a'to saveH3467Prep-l ¦ V-Hiphil-InfVerb Hiphil Infinitive Constructלְtoהוֹשִׁיעַsave
  5. כָּלkolallH3605N-mscNoun Singular Masculine Construct
  6. עַנְוֵי'an·vei[the] humble [people] ofH6035Adj-mpcAdjective Plural Masculine Construct
  7. אֶרֶץ'E·retz[the] earthH776N-fsNoun Singular Feminine Absolute
  8. סֶלָהSe·lahSelahH5542PrtParticle Interjection
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

Translation differences
Translation
Details
In the KJVVerse 15,091 of 31,102 · 48.5%

Study this verse

Written with AI assistance. Always check it against Scripture.

This verse

God stood up to judge so that he might save all the meek of the earth, the humble and afflicted who depend on him.

“When God arose to judgment,”

Qûwm means to rise or stand up, and it pictures God standing up to act at his chosen time. Mishpâṭ is his verdict and his justice, the setting right of what is wrong.

“to save all the meek of the earth.”

This is the purpose of the judgment. The ʻânâv are the humble and afflicted who rely on God, first the people of Judah and then his lowly ones everywhere.

“Selah.”

Çelâh is most likely a musical or liturgical direction, a pause that lets the worshipper weigh what has just been sung.

Passage studyPsalm 76:7–9

God Rises to Judge and to Save the Meek

7Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? 8Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, 9When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.

Summary

Asaph has just sung of a victory God won at Jerusalem, and in these three verses he tells us what that victory shows. God alone is to be feared, and nothing can stand before him when he is angry. He made his judgment heard from heaven, and the earth fell silent in fear. The purpose of that judgment was to save all the meek of the earth, so the same act that silences the proud rescues the humble.

The victory behind these verses

Psalm 76 is a psalm of Asaph and a song of triumph, sung by God’s people in thanks for a deliverance of Jerusalem. It opens with God known in Judah and dwelling in Zion, and it says of that place, “There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle” (Psalm 76:3). The verses just before ours describe the mightiest warriors made helpless, with chariot and horse cast into a sleep of death (Psalm 76:4–6). Verse 7 then gives the reason such a victory came so easily to him, and the psalm closes by calling for vows and gifts to be brought to the God who cuts off the spirit of princes (Psalm 76:10–12).

The psalm leaves the event unnamed, and it is commonly connected with the night when the angel of the LORD struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in the days of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:35, Isaiah 37:36), around 701 BC. Assyria was the great power of that age, known for its brutal campaigns and sieges, and Jerusalem was utterly outmatched. The fuller account tells how Sennacherib’s army boasted of its strength and blasphemed the God of Israel, and how the king withdrew after that night and was later assassinated (2 Kings 19, Isaiah 37).

The nations of that time commonly thought of a nation’s god as fighting on its behalf. This psalm sets the LORD far above every such god. He is the supreme warrior, defending the city he chose and the people of his covenant, and a deliverance like this one filled Israel with gratitude, awe and renewed faith.

God alone is to be feared

“Thou, even thou, art to be feared.” The repeated “thou” sets God apart from every other power, human or supposedly divine, that might claim such honour. He alone is worthy of the deepest reverence. The Hebrew word is yârêʼ, which covers terror and dread at one end and reverence, awe and respect at the other. Here it describes God himself as the one who is awe-inspiring, or “terrible” in the older sense of that word.

People ask what kind of fear this is. For God’s enemies it is real dread before a power that overwhelms them. For his people it is a holy awe that leads to worship, obedience and humility, the fear of the LORD that Scripture calls the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7) and the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). The power that terrifies his adversaries is the same power that shelters those who trust him, for God is our refuge and strength in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Who may stand when God is angry?

The question carries its own answer, which is that every creature gives way before him. The verb ʻâmad is the plain word for standing, and “in thy sight” translates pânîym, the word for the face. It is plural in form but used as a singular, and with a preposition in front of it the word means “before” or “in the presence of”. So the psalm pictures a meeting with God face to face, from which there is no escape.

The word for anger, ʼaph, literally means the nose or nostril, and it came to mean anger from the hard breathing of someone deeply stirred. Scripture speaks of God’s face and God’s anger in these human terms so that we can understand him. His anger is holy and just. It is directed against sin, against rebellion and against the oppression of his people, and it flows from his perfect righteousness. “When once thou art angry” tells us that once his judgment is set in motion it is swift and decisive.

Other parts of Scripture say the same. Nahum asks who can stand before the LORD’s indignation (Nahum 1:6), and Hebrews tells us that our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). The question of this verse looks ahead to the Day of the Lord, when all will be held to account before his throne and the great day of his wrath comes (Revelation 6:16–17).

Judgment heard from heaven

Verse 8 says that God caused judgment to be heard from heaven. The word is dîyn, which can mean a legal suit, justice, a judicial sentence or the act of governing. Here it is God’s sentence against the wicked, carried out in a way that delivered his people. It came “from heaven”, where the LORD has set his throne (Psalm 103:19), so it is a decree with the highest authority and one that human courts cannot overturn.

The judgment was “heard”. God’s verdict was made public in an event that the world could see and had to reckon with. The picture of a judgment sounding from heaven recalls the thunder, lightning and voice at Mount Sinai, when God made himself known directly and overwhelmingly.

The earth feared, and was still

The earth here stands for those who live on it, and especially the nations and rulers who set themselves against God. The psalm speaks of the earth as though it were a living thing that can be afraid and fall quiet, and in doing so it shows how far the effect of God’s act reached. “Feared” is yârêʼ again, the same word that verse 7 uses of God. The God who is to be feared was in fact feared.

“Was still” translates shâqaṭ, which means to be quiet, still or at rest. When God’s judgment was heard, the boasting, the military aggression and the clamour of the nations fell silent. This quiet is a peace that God himself imposed, and it shows that true security and rest come through his intervention. Another psalm calls us to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), in words that share the English “still” with this verse, and the Psalms return often to God’s protection of his holy city (Psalm 48).

Does God still make his judgment heard?

God continues to judge and to rule today. He governs the world morally and allows sin and rebellion to bear their consequences, and he works justice and order in individual lives and across history, often by quieter means than the night Jerusalem was delivered. He has also appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31), when all things will be brought to account.

God rises to save the meek

“When God arose to judgment” uses the verb qûwm, to rise or stand up. The psalm again speaks of God in human terms, as one who stands up to act, and Isaiah records the same resolve in the LORD’s own words: “Now will I rise, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 33:10). The “when” points to a definite moment. God had a time appointed for stepping in, and at that time he acted.

The word for judgment in this verse is mishpâṭ, a different Hebrew word from the dîyn of verse 8, though the KJV gives “judgment” for both. Mishpâṭ means a verdict, a sentence or a formal decree, and it also covers justice, what is right, vindication and punishment.

How does judgment save?

God’s judgment saves by setting things right. When he judges, he restores order and corrects injustice, and that one act falls differently on different people. For the oppressor it means condemnation and defeat. For the humble who have been wronged it means vindication and rescue, because God has stepped in to defend their cause. The LORD is the righteous judge of the world (Psalm 9:7–8), and he maintains the cause of the afflicted (Psalm 140:12). So the verse states the purpose of his rising plainly: “to save all the meek of the earth.”

Who are the meek of the earth?

The meek are the ʻânâv: the humble, the lowly, the poor and the afflicted, whether in mind or in circumstances. They are people who have been pressed down and have no human means of defence, and so they depend entirely on God. Their meekness is a posture of humility, patient endurance and trust in his justice. In the psalm’s first setting they were the people of Judah, helpless before Assyria. The words “all” and “of the earth” reach wider, to God’s humble people wherever they are found.

God’s care for them runs through Scripture. “The LORD lifteth up the meek” (Psalm 147:6), Zephaniah calls the meek of the earth to seek the LORD (Zephaniah 2:3), and Jesus promises that the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).

What does Selah mean?

Çelâh is a word found often in the Psalms and also in Habakkuk. Its exact meaning is uncertain, and it is generally understood as a musical or liturgical instruction that marks a pause for reflection, a change in the music, or an emphasis on what has just been said. Here it falls right after the statement that God judges in order to save, and it gives the worshipper room to take that in.

Christ, the Judge who bore the judgment

These verses find their fullest meaning in Jesus Christ. He carries the authority before which none can stand, and his cleansing of the temple shows a holy indignation against profanity and injustice (John 2:13–17). When he rebuked the wind and the sea, the storm ceased and there was calm (Mark 4:39), a stillness like the one that fell on the earth in verse 8.

He is also the meek one. He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7), and he says of himself, “I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

God’s rising to judgment to save the meek is seen in both of Christ’s comings. In the first he came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). At the cross God’s judgment on sin fell on him, and he made peace through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:20), so that those who are in Christ are saved from wrath through him (Romans 5:9). The Father has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and at his second coming he will return as the righteous Judge (Revelation 19:11–16). Then every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2:10–11), and the meek will inherit the earth as he promised.

What God’s judgment gives the meek

This passage shows us a God who is holy and powerful and whose judgment is serious. It also shows us that his judgment has a purpose, and that the purpose is rescue. In a world where the proud often triumph for a while and injustice goes unanswered, God is neither silent nor indifferent. He has a “when”, an appointed time at which he rises, and patient endurance rests on that.

The fear this passage teaches is a reverent awe that leads to worship and obedience, and for those who trust him it sits beside great comfort. The God who defends his people is strong enough to overcome any adversary. Since nothing can stand before his anger, the passage also presses on each of us the question of where we stand with him, and it points us to the mercy he has provided in Christ.

The meek are those who depend on God for their vindication, and this verse promises that he saves all of them. His heart is with the afflicted, which draws his people toward justice and compassion for the vulnerable. Our hope and security rest in the God who arose to judgment “to save all the meek of the earth.”

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Psalm 76:7–12. He set out his notes in a three-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 6 verses
Passage under commentPsalm 76:7–12
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details

This glorious victory with which God had graced and blessed his church is here made to speak three things: -

I.Terror to God's enemies (Psalm 76:7-9):

"Thou, even thou, art to be feared; thy majesty is to be reverenced, thy sovereignty to be submitted to, and thy justice to be dreaded by those that have offended thee." Let all the world learn by this event to stand in awe of the great God.

1.Let all be afraid of his wrath against the daring impiety of sinners: Who may stand in thy sight from the minute that thou art angry? If God be a consuming fire, how can chaff and stubble stand before him, though his anger be kindled but a little? Psalm 2:12.

2.Let all be afraid of his jealousy for oppressed innocency and the injured cause of his own people: "Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven, then when thou didst arise to save all the meek of the earth (Psalm 76:8, Psalm 76:9); and then the earth feared and was still, waiting what would be the issue of those glorious appearances of thine." Note,

(1.)God's people are the meek of the earth (Zechariah 2:3), the quiet in the land (Psalm 35:20), that can bear any wrong, but do none.

(2.)Though the meek of the earth are by their meekness exposed to injury, yet God will, sooner or later, appear for their salvation, and plead their cause.

(3.)When God comes to save all the meek of the earth, he will cause judgment to be heard from heaven; he will make the world know that he is angry at the oppressors of his people, and takes what is done against them as done against himself. The righteous God long seems to keep silence, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard.

(4.)When God is speaking judgment from heaven it is time for the earth to compose itself into an awful and reverent silence: The earth feared and was still, as silence is made by proclamation when the court sits. Be still and know that I am God, Psalm 46:10. Be silent, O all flesh! before the Lord, for he is raised up to judgment, Zechariah 2:13. Those that suppose this psalm to have been penned upon the occasion of the routing of Sennacherib's army take it for granted that the descent of the destroying angel, who did the execution, was accompanied with thunder, by which God caused judgment to be heard from heaven, and that the earth feared (that is, there was an earthquake), but it was soon over. But this is altogether uncertain.

II.Comfort to God's people, Psalm 76:10.

We live in a very angry provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man, which seems boundless. But this is a great comfort to us,

1.That as far as God permits the wrath of man to break forth at any time he will make it turn to his praise, will bring honour to himself and serve his own purposes by it: Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, not only by the checks given to it, when it shall be forced to confess its own impotency, but even by the liberty given to it for a time. The hardships which God's people suffer by the wrath of their enemies are made to redound to the glory of God and his grace; and the more the heathen rage and plot against the Lord and his anointed the more will God be praised for setting his King upon his holy hill of Zion in spite of them, Psalm 2:1, Psalm 2:6. When the heavenly hosts make this the matter of their thanksgiving-song that God has taken to himself his great power and has reigned, though the nations were angry (Revelation 11:17, Revelation 11:18), then the wrath of man adds lustre to the praises of God.

2.That what will not turn to his praise shall not be suffered to break out: The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Men must never permit sin, because they cannot check it when they will; but God can. He can set bounds to the wrath of man, as he does to the raging sea. Hitherto it shall come and no further; here shall its proud waves be stayed. God restrained the remainder of Sennacherib's rage, for he put a hook in his nose and a bridle in his jaws (Isaiah 37:29); and, though he permitted him to talk big, he restrained him from doing what he designed.

III.Duty to all, Psalm 76:11, Psalm 76:12.

Let all submit themselves to this great God and become his loyal subjects. Observe,

1.The duty required of us all, all that are about him, that have any dependence upon him or any occasion to approach to him; and who is there that has not? We are therefore every one of us commanded to do our homage to the King of kings: Vow and pay; that is, take an oath of allegiance to him and make conscience of keeping it. Vow to be his, and pay what you vow. Bind your souls with a bond to him (for that is the nature of a vow), and then live up to the obligations you have laid upon yourselves; for better it is not to vow than to vow and not to pay. And, having taken him for our King, let us bring presents to him, as subjects to their sovereign, 1 Samuel 10:27. Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land, Isaiah 16:1. Not that God needs any present we can bring, or can be benefited by it; but thus we must give him honour and own that we have our all from him. Our prayers and praises, and especially our hearts, are the presents we should bring to the Lord our God.

2.The reasons to enforce this duty: Render to all their due, fear to whom fear is due; and is it not due to God? Yes;

(1.)He ought to be feared: He is the fear (so the word is); his name is glorious and fearful,; and he is the proper object of our fear; with him is terrible majesty. The God of Abraham is called the fear of Isaac (Genesis 31:42), and we are commanded to make him our fear, Isaiah 8:13. When we bring presents to him we must have an eye to him as greatly to be feared; for he is terrible in his holy places.

(2.)He will be feared, even by those who think it their own sole prerogative to be feared (Psalm 76:12): He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he shall slip it off as easily as we slip off a flower from the stalk or a bunch of grapes from the vine; so the word signifies. He can dispirit those that are most daring and make them heartless; for he is, or will be, terrible to the kings of the earth; and sooner or later, if they be not so wise as to submit themselves to him, he will force them to call in vain to rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from his wrath, Revelation 6:16. Since there is no contending with God, it is as much our wisdom as it is our duty to submit to him.

Historical interpretation

Two Centuries of Reception

4 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

4 quotes · AD 430–585
Post-NiceneEarly Medieval
500600

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 430Augustine of HippoPost-NiceneSourceExposition on Psalm 76
Who are the meek in heart? They that on snorting horses have not mounted, but in their humility have confessed their own sins. "For the thought of a man shall confess to You, and the remnants of the thought shall celebrate solemnities to You" [Psalm 76:10].
d. AD 458Theodoret of CyrusPost-NiceneSourceLETTER 134
If every one had imitated this cruelty, nothing else would have been left then for me in my lifetime but to be wasted by want, and, at my death, instead of being committed to a tomb, to be made meat for dogs and wild beasts. But I have found support in those who care nothing for this present life but await the enjoyment of everlasting blessings, and these furnish me with manifold consolation. But the loving Lord “caused judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to judgment.” But the wicked shall perish. The falsehood of the new heresy20 has been proscribed, and the truth of the divine Gospels is publicly proclaimed. I for my part exclaim with the blessed David, “Blessed be the Lord God who alone does wondrous things, and blessed be his glorious name: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; amen and amen.”
d. AD 585CassiodorusPost-NiceneSourceEXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 75:10
“When God arose in judgment to save all the quiet of the earth.” That verse must be conjoined to the previous words, for he says, “The earth trembled and grew quiet when God arose in judgment.” It is well said that he arises in his judgment, seeing that Christ quietly endured all things when he was judged, although even at the final judgment he will render judgment amid all tranquility. But the word “arise” is interpreted from the custom of earthly judges, who are said to arise whenever they resolve something with unimpeded severity, because they seem to be shaken when they avenge the crimes that have been committed. And in order that you might not believe that that judgment will take place only for the damnation of evil people, he adds “to save all the quiet of the earth.” The quiet of the earth are those who are not seized by any vices of this world and whose will is not set on fire by them, but they conduct themselves with impartial moderation (as was said earlier) and are shown to have a tranquil peace of mind. They are saved because they receive the promised rewards by the gift of the Lord.
d. AD 585CassiodorusPost-NiceneSourceEXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 75:9
“He has hurled judgment from heaven; the earth trembled and grew quiet.” Here that very power of judgment is explained, because from that height of power judgment descends in such a way as if it had been a javelin sent by a very strong and unerring hand. But a lance of that kind brings about a temporal ill, but God’s judgment will wound the ungodly with an eternal blow. Next come the words “The earth trembled and grew quiet.” Here (as often has been mentioned) the earth means the stout and most noxious sinners, who must be condemned by the authority of God’s verdict. They will tremble when they hear, “Go into the eternal fire.” They will grow quiet when they are received into everlasting damnation. But that sort of quiet is without any rest, for they will make their evil works grow quiet, but they will not be quiet amid their punishment, inasmuch as they must be tortured with the eternal flame.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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