Psalms 132:9
in Psalms 132May Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and Your saints shout for joy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; And let thy saints shout for joy.
KJV
Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.
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This verse in Psalms 132
Commentary
9 notes on this verseLet thy priests be clothed with righteousness,.... In 2Ch 6:41; it is, "with salvation", as in Psa 132:
This site's exposition
Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place
on Psalms 132:8-9
The prayer asks the LORD to rise to His resting place with the ark of His strength. Solomon prays these words almost exactly at the temple's dedication, at 2 Chronicles 6:41. Righteousness is asked for the priests, and joy for the saints.
This site's exposition
Your priests be clothed with righteousness
Saints translates chasidim, from chesed, loving devotion. Solomon's form of this prayer at 2 Chronicles 6:41 asks salvation for the priests in place of righteousness. The garments of the priests at Exodus 28:2 were made for glory and for beauty.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Thy saints sing with joyfulness" [Psalm 132:9]. When Thou risest from the dead, and goest unto Thy Father, let that royal Priesthood be clothed with faith, since "the righteous liveth by faith;" [Romans 1:17] and, receiving the pledge of the Holy Spirit, let the members rejoice in the hope of resurrection, which went before in the Head: for to them the Apostle saith, "Rejoicing in hope." [Romans 12:12]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, Righteousness is the best ornament of a minister. Holiness towards God, and goodness towards all men, are habits for ministers of the necessity of which there is no dispute. "They are thy priests, and will therefore discredit their relation to thee if they be not clothed with righteousness. " 3.
. [1.] It was desired that the priests might be clothed with righteousness; it is here promised that God will clothe them with salvation, not only save them, but make them and their administrations instrumental for the salvation of his people; they shall both save themselves and those that hear them, and add those to the church that shall be saved.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
With these words Solomon concluded his prayer, 2 Chron. vi. He had built it in pursuance of the orders he had received from his father, and therefore his pleas to enforce these petitions refer to David.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness - This is also substantially the same language that was used by Solomon at the dedication of the temple. See again 2Ch 6:41. The idea is, that in the service of such a God, the priests, the ministers of religion, should be holy. The honor of religion demanded it. It was the first qualification of those who “served the altar;” a qualification without which all other endowments would be valueless. On the word clothed, see the notes at Psa 35:26; compare Psa 65:13; Psa 93:1; Psa 104:1; Isa 61:10; 1Pe 5:
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness - Let them be as remarkable for inward holiness as they are for the splendor of their holy vestments.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
turn not away the face of Your anointed Solomon, when he comes to place the Ark therein.
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. 6 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
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּהֲנֶ֥יךָ | kohaneikha | priests your | H3548 → | 750 times |
| יִלְבְּשׁוּ־ | yilbeshu- | let them be clothed | H3847 → | 110 times |
| צֶ֑דֶק | tzedek | righteousness | H6664 → | 119 times |
| וַחֲסִידֶ֥יךָ | vachasideikha | and faithful [people] your | H2623 → | 33 times |
| יְרַנֵּֽנוּ׃ | yeranenu | let them shout for joy | H7442 → | 54 times |
כֹּהֲנֶ֥יךָpriests your
kohaneikhaH3548 →750 times
יִלְבְּשׁוּ־let them be clothed
yilbeshu-H3847 →110 times
צֶ֑דֶקrighteousness
tzedekH6664 →119 times
וַחֲסִידֶ֥יךָand faithful [people] your
vachasideikhaH2623 →33 times
יְרַנֵּֽנוּ׃let them shout for joy
yeranenuH7442 →54 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
Zechariah 9:9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of…
it leads to
- Matthew 21:4–7
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
- Zephaniah 3:14–15
Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
- John 12:13–16
They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
- Zechariah 2:10
“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Matthew 21:4–7
Through
Revelation 19:8She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.
it leads to
- Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 61:10
Through
Isaiah 61:10I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
it leads to
- Revelation 19:7–8
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.
- Philippians 3:9
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
- Revelation 19:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
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, Exposition on Psalm 132; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.