Psalms 138:4
in Psalms 138All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
All the kings of the earth shall give thee thanks, O Jehovah, For they have heard the words of thy mouth.
KJV
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
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This verse in Psalms 138
Commentary
11 notes on this verseLet all the kings of the earth confess to you, O Lord. The kings of the earth are those who reign in sin. Therefore let those very ones confess, who reign in sin. For he is not speaking of the kings of this world. For it is written: "The heart of the king is in the hand of God." Do you suppose that the heart of the most impious Julian was in the hand of God? God forbid. Or of Nero, or of the persecutors Maximian and Decius? God forbid.
This site's exposition
All the kings of the earth
on Psalms 138:4-6
The psalm widens from one man to the kings, who give thanks when they hear the words of God's mouth. They sing about the ways of the LORD, and the LORD who sits on high attends to the lowly. His glory is great, and the proud He knows from afar.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Let all the kings of the earth confess to Thee, O Lord" (ver. 4). So shall it be, and so it is, and that daily; and it is shown that it was not said in vain, save that it was future. But neither let them, when they confess to Thee, when they praise Thee, desire earthly things of Thee. For what shall the kings of the earth desire? Have they not already sovereignty? Whatever more a man desire on earth, sovereignty is the highest point of his desire. What more can he desire? It must needs be some loftier eminence. But perhaps the loftier it is, the more dangerous. And therefore the more exalted kings are in earthly eminence, the more ought they to humble themselves before God. What do they do? "Because they have heard all the words of Thy mouth." In a certain nation were hidden the Law and the Prophets, "all the words of Thy mouth:" in the Jewish nation alone were "all the words of Thy mouth," the nation which the Apostle praiseth, saying, "What advantage hath the Jew? Much every way; chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." These were the words of God. ...What meant Gideon's fleece? It is like the nation of the Jews in the midst of the world, which had the grace of sacraments, not indeed openly manifested, but hidden in a cloud, or in a veil, like the dew in the fleece. The time came when the dew was to be manifested in the floor; it was manifested, no longer hidden. Christ alone is the sweetness of dew: Him alone thou recognisest not in Scripture, for whom Scripture was written. But yet, "they have heard all the words of thy mouth."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The kings - A prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles. Hear - The gospel preached among then.
23 ), they readily joined in the worship of the God of Israel. It may look further, to the calling of the Gentiles and the discipling of all nations by the gospel of Christ, of whom it is said that all kings shall fall down before him, Ps. lxxii. Now it is here foretold, (1.) That the kings of the earth shall hear the words of God.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord,.... Or "let them confess", or "praise thee" (s); a wish or prayer.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Kings have usually small care to hear the word of the Lord; but King David feels assured that if they do hear it they will feel its power. A little piety goes a long way in courts; but brighter days are coming, in which rulers will become hearers and worshippers: may the advent of such happy times be hastened. What an assembly!—"all the kings of the earth!" What a purpose! Gathered to hear the words of Jehovah's mouth.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
That promise, as an answer to his prayers in distress, revived and strengthened his faith; and, as the basis of other revelations of the Messiah, it will be the occasion of praise by all who hear and receive it (Ps 68:29, 31;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Kings have usually small care to hear the word of the Lord; but King David feels assured that if they do hear it they will feel its power. A little piety goes a long way in courts; but brighter days are coming, in which rulers will become hearers and worshippers: may the advent of such happy times be hastened. What an assembly!—"all the kings of the earth!" What a purpose! Gathered to hear the words of Jehovah's mouth. What a preacher! David himself rehearses the words of Jehovah. What praise! when they all in happy union lift up their songs unto the Lord. Kings are as gods below, and they do well when they worship the God above. The way of conversion for kings is the same as for ourselves: faith to them also cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Happy are those who can cause the word of the Lord to penetrate palaces; for the occupants of thrones are usually the last to know the joyful sounds of the gospel. David, the king, cared for kings' souls, and it will be wise for each man to look first after those who are of his own order. He went to his work of testimony with fall assurance of success: he meant to speak only the words of Jehovah's mouth, and he felt sure that the kings would hear and praise Jehovah.
All the kings of the earth - Of the land: all the neighboring nations, seeing what is done for us, and looking in vain to find that any human agency was employed in the work, will immediately see that it was thy hand; and consequently, by confessing that it was thou, will give praise to thy name.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee ... - That is, kings, princes, and rulers shall learn the words of promise; shall be made acquainted with the words which thou hast graciously spoken, and with their fulfillment, and shall be led to praise thee. This refers to a time, of which frequent prophetic mention is made in the Scriptures, when kings and rulers shall be converted to the true religion, and when they shall act an important part, by their example and influence, in maintaining and diffusing it. Compare Psa 68:31-32; Isa 49:23.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
for they heard When they heard the words of Your mouth: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery,” they acknowledged the words of Your mouth: “I am [the Lord your God]” and “You shall have no [other god].
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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יוֹד֣וּךָ | yodukha | they will give thanks to you | H3034 → | 114 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַלְכֵי־ | malkhei- | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אָ֑רֶץ | ʾaretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׁ֝מְע֗וּ | shamu | they have heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אִמְרֵי־ | ʾimrei- | [the] words of | H561 → | 49 times |
| פִֽיךָ׃ | fikha | mouth your | H6310 → | 498 times |
יוֹד֣וּךָthey will give thanks to you
yodukhaH3034 →114 times
יְ֭הוָהO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַלְכֵי־[the] kings of
malkhei-H4428 →2525 times
אָ֑רֶץ[the] earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
כִּ֥יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
שָׁ֝מְע֗וּthey have heard
shamuH8085 →1159 times
אִמְרֵי־[the] words of
ʾimrei-H561 →49 times
פִֽיךָ׃mouth your
fikhaH6310 →498 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
Psalms 22:27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 86:9
All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- Revelation 7:9–12
After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes…
- Psalms 2:8
Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
- Isaiah 49:6
He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light…
- Psalms 86:9
Through
Psalms 22:22I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.
it leads to
- Hebrews 2:11–12
For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
- Hebrews 2:11–12
Through
Psalms 102:15So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:43
then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear…
- 1 Kings 8:43
Through
Psalms 102:22when peoples and kingdoms assemble to serve the LORD.
it leads to
- Zechariah 8:20–23
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 8:20–23
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 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 138; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 49, on Psalm 137; 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.