Psalms 47:6
in Psalms 47Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sing praises to God, sing praises: Sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
KJV
Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
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This verse in Psalms 47
Commentary
10 notes on this verseSing praises. What jubilation is here, when five times over the whole earth is called upon to sing to God! He is worthy, he is Creator, he is goodness itself. Sing praises, keep on with the glad work. Never let the music pause. He never ceases to be good, let us never cease to be grateful. Strange that we should need so much urging to attend to so heavenly an exercise. Sing praises unto our King. Let him have all our praise; no one ought to have even a particle of it. Jesus shall have it all.
This site's exposition
God has ascended amid shouts
on Psalms 47:5-6
God has ascended amid shouts, and the sound of the horn goes up with Him. The older writers read it two ways, the ark carried up to Zion in procession, and the ascension of Christ. Sing praises stands four times in verse 6.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Sing praises to our God, sing praises." Whom as Man mocked they, who from God were alienated. "Sing praises to our God." For He is not Man only, but God. Man of the seed of David, God the Lord of David, of the Jews having flesh. "Whose" (saith the Apostle) "are the fathers, of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came." Of the Jews then is Christ, but according to the flesh. But who is this Christ who is of the Jews according to the flesh? "Who is over all, God blessed for ever." God before the flesh, God in the flesh, God with the flesh. Nor only God before the flesh, but God before the earth whence flesh was made; nor only God before the earth whereof flesh was made, but even God before the Heaven which was first made; God before the day which was first made; God before Angels; the same Christ is God: for "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
The Medieval Church1 voice
If therefore He is most high, "sing praises to our God," with the mouth; "sing praises to our King," with the heart. 1 Cor. 14: "I will sing with the spirit, I will sing also with the mind." "Because He is King." Next he shows …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Sing praises to God, and again, Sing praises, Sing praises to our King, and again, Sing praises. This intimates that it is a very necessary and excellent duty, that it is a duty we ought to be frequent and abundant in; we may sing praises again and again in the same words, and it is no vain repetition if it be done with new affections.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Sing praises to God,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
This sovereignty is what the Psalm teaches; hence he adds, sing . . . praises with understanding--literally, "sing and play an instructive (Psalm)." The whole typifies Christ's ascension (compare Ps 68:18). The instruction continued. throne of . . . holiness--or, "holy throne" (see on Ps 2:6;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Sing praises. What jubilation is here, when five times over the whole earth is called upon to sing to God! He is worthy, he is Creator, he is goodness itself. Sing praises, keep on with the glad work. Never let the music pause. He never ceases to be good, let us never cease to be grateful. Strange that we should need so much urging to attend to so heavenly an exercise. Sing praises unto our King. Let him have all our praise; no one ought to have even a particle of it. Jesus shall have it all. Let his sovereignty be the fount of gladness. It is a sublime attribute, but full of bliss to the faithful. Let our homage be paid not in groans but songs. He asks not slaves to grace his throne; he is no despot; singing is fit homage for a monarch so blessed and gracious. Let all hearts that own his sceptre sing and sing on for ever, for there is everlasting reason for thanksgiving while we dwell under the shadow of such a throne.
Sing praises - זמרו zammeru: this word is four times repeated in this short verse, and shows at once the earnestness and happiness of the people. They are the words of exultation and triumph. Feel your obligation to God; express it in thanksgiving: be thankful, be eternally thankful, to God your King.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Sing praises to God, sing praises - This commences the “second” part of the psalm. The “repetition” shows that the heart was full, or was overflowing with joy. It is a call on all to celebrate the praises of God, especially as he had enabled his people to triumph over their enemies. Sing praises unto our King - Unto God, who has shown himself to be the King of his people - one who rules in their behalf, and who has interposed for their deliverance in danger.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
He shall choose..for us and restore us to its midst. Then He will be exalted with the trumpet blast and the sound of the shofar that we will sound before Him over the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, and we will say, “Sing to God, etc.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זַמְּר֣וּ | zameru | sing praises to | H2167 → | 45 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֣ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| זַמֵּ֑רוּ | zameru | sing praises | H2167 → | 45 times |
| זַמְּר֖וּ | zameru | sing praises | H2167 → | 45 times |
| לְמַלְכֵּ֣נוּ | lemalkenu | to king our | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| זַמֵּֽרוּ׃ | zameru | sing praises | H2167 → | 45 times |
זַמְּר֣וּsing praises to
zameruH2167 →45 times
אֱלֹהִ֣יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
זַמֵּ֑רוּsing praises
zameruH2167 →45 times
זַמְּר֖וּsing praises
zameruH2167 →45 times
לְמַלְכֵּ֣נוּto king our
lemalkenuH4428 →2525 times
זַמֵּֽרוּ׃sing praises
zameruH2167 →45 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 25:34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:19–20
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
- James 2:5
Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Revelation 21:7
The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
- Revelation 13:8
And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was…
- Revelation 17:8
The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose…
- 1 Peter 1:19–20
Through
Psalms 68:4Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. Exalt Him who rides on the clouds— His name is the LORD— and rejoice before Him.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 33:26
“There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to your aid, and the clouds in His majesty.
- Isaiah 12:4–6
and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name! Make His works known among the peoples; declare that His name is exalted.
- Deuteronomy 33:26
Through
1 Chronicles 16:9Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders.
it leads to
- Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to…
- Colossians 3:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, ON THE PSALMS - Psalm 47; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.