Psalms 122:5
in Psalms 122For there the thrones of judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For there are set thrones for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
KJV
For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
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This verse in Psalms 122
Commentary
11 notes on this verseFor there are set thrones of judgment,.... In Jerusalem as the Targum; here were courts of judicature, and thrones for the judges to sit upon, to execute judgment and justice to the people; the thrones of the house of David; the Targum is, "thrones in the house of the sanctuary, for the kings of the house of David;'' who might sit there, as the Jews say, when others might not.
This site's exposition
where the tribes go up
on Psalms 122:4-5
The tribes went up under a command. Deuteronomy 16:16 sets three appearances a year, at Unleavened Bread, Weeks and Tabernacles, and the verse calls that going up a testimony. The city held the thrones of judgment of the house of David, so thanks and justice were given in one place.
This site's exposition
the thrones of judgment stand
The verb behind stand is yashav, to sit down as a judge does, so the thrones of judgment sit in Jerusalem. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown let the thrones stand for the men on them, David's sons. Absalom wanted that judgment seat at 2 Samuel 15:4.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"For there were seated seats for judgment" (ver. 5). This is a wonderful riddle, a wonderful question, if it be not understood. He calleth those seats, which the Greeks call thrones. The Greeks call chairs thrones, as a term of honour. Therefore, my brethren, it is not wonderful if even we should sit on seats, or chairs; but that these seats themselves should sit, when shall we be able to understand this? As if some one should say: let stools or chairs sit here. We sit on chairs, we sit on seats, we sit on stools; the seats themselves sit not. What then meaneth this, "For there were seated seats for judgment"? ...If therefore heaven be the seat of God, and the Apostles are heaven; they themselves are become the seat of God, the throne of God. It is said in another passage: "The soul of the righteous is the throne of wisdom." A great truth, a great truth, is declared; the throne of wisdom is the soul of the righteous; that is, wisdom sitteth in the soul of the righteous as it were in her chair, in her throne, and thence judgeth whatsoever she judgeth. There were therefore thrones of wisdom, and therefore the Lord said unto them, "Ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." So they also shall sit upon twelve seats, and they are themselves the seats of God; for of them it is said, "For there were seated seats." Who sat? "Seats." And who are the seats? They of whom it is said, "The soul of the righteous is the seat of wisdom." Who are the seats? The heavens. Who are the heavens? Heaven. What is heaven? That of which the Lord saith, "Heaven is My seat." The righteous then themselves are the seats; and have seats; and seats shall be seated in that Jerusalem. For what purpose? "For judgment." Ye shall sit, He saith, on twelve thrones, O ye thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Judging whom? Those who are below on earth. Who will judge? […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Observe, What a goodly sight it was to see the testimony of Israel and the thrones of judgment such near neighbours, and they are good neighbours, which may greatly befriend one another. Let the testimony of Israel direct the thrones of judgment, and the thrones of judgment protect the testimony of Israel.
Judgment - The supreme courts of justice for ecclesiastical and civil affairs. Thrones - The royal throne allotted by God to David and to his posterity, and the inferior seats of justice under his authority.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For there are set thrones of judgment. If discontented with the petty judgments of their village lords, the people could bring their hard matters to the royal seat, and the beloved King would be sure to decide aright; for the judgment thrones were The thrones of the house of David. We who come to the church and its public worship are charmed to come to the throne of God, and to the throne of the reigning Saviour.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there are set thrones--or, "do sit, thrones," used for the occupants, David's sons (2Sa 8:18). Let peace--including prosperity, everywhere prevail. In the welfare of the city, as its civil, and especially the religious relations, was involved that of Israel. now--as in Ps 115:2.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
For there are set thrones of judgment. If discontented with the petty judgments of their village lords, the people could bring their hard matters to the royal seat, and the beloved King would be sure to decide aright; for the judgment thrones were The thrones of the house of David. We who come to the church and its public worship are charmed to come to the throne of God, and to the throne of the reigning Saviour. To a true saint the throne is never more amiable than in its judicial capacity; righteous men love judgment, and are glad that right will be rewarded and iniquity will be punished. To see God reigning in the Son of David and evermore avenging the just cause is a thing which is good for weeping eyes, and cheering for disconsolate hearts. They sang of old as they went towards the throne, and so do we. "The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice." The throne of judgment is not removed, but firmly "set, " and there it shall remain till the work of justice is accomplished, and truth and right are set on the throne with their King. Happy people to be under so glorious a rule.
There are set thrones of judgment - There were the public courts, and thither the people went to obtain justice; and while the thrones of the house of David were there, they had justice.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For there are set - Margin, Do sit. The Hebrew is, “For there sit thrones for judgment.” They are established there; or, That is the appointed place for administering justice. Thrones of judgment - Seats for dispensing justice. The word throne is now commonly appropriated to the seat or chair of a king, but this is not necessarily the meaning here. The word may denote a seat or bench occupied by a judge. The meaning here is, that Jerusalem was the supreme seat of justice; the place where justice was dispensed for the nation. It was at once the religious and the civil capital of the nation. The thrones of the house of David - Of the family of David, who performed the office of magistrates, or who administered justice. The family of David would naturally be employed in such a service as this. This office, Absalom - who had not been appointed to it - earnestly desired, in order that he might secure popularity in his contemplated rebellion. “Oh that I were made a judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!” 2Sa 15:4.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For there were set thrones, etc. For also in Jerusalem the Shechinah will rest, and thrones will sit there upon which to judge the nations, and the royal thrones of the house of David.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
There ascended the tribes For there in Shiloh the tribes ascended when they went up from Egypt, and the Tabernacle was established in its midst.
Request the welfare of Jerusalem and say to her, “May those who love you enjoy tranquility, and let there be peace in your wall.”
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. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׁ֨מָּה׀ | shamah | there <towards> | H8033 → | 834 times |
| יָשְׁב֣וּ | yashevu | they sat | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| כִסְא֣וֹת | khisot | thrones | H3678 → | 135 times |
| לְמִשְׁפָּ֑ט | lemishpat | for judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| כִּ֝סְא֗וֹת | kisot | thrones | H3678 → | 135 times |
| לְבֵ֣ית | leveit | of [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| דָּוִֽיד׃ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שָׁ֨מָּה׀there <towards>
shamahH8033 →834 times
יָשְׁב֣וּthey sat
yashevuH3427 →1079 times
כִסְא֣וֹתthrones
khisotH3678 →135 times
לְמִשְׁפָּ֑טfor judgment
lemishpatH4941 →422 times
כִּ֝סְא֗וֹתthrones
kisotH3678 →135 times
לְבֵ֣יתof [the] house of
leveitH1004 →2046 times
דָּוִֽיד׃David
davidH1732 →999 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
2 Samuel 8:18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 30:14
We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”
- 2 Samuel 20:23
Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites;
- 2 Samuel 15:18
and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.
- 1 Chronicles 18:17
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.
- 2 Samuel 20:7
So Joab’s men, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, marched out of Jerusalem in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.
- 1 Samuel 30:14
Through
Deuteronomy 17:8If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Through
2 Chronicles 11:22Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, intending to make him king.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 21:15–17
If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,
- Deuteronomy 21:15–17
Through
Deuteronomy 17:18When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 34:15
And Hilkiah said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan.
- 2 Chronicles 34:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 122; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.