Psalms 22:30
in Psalms 22Posterity will serve Him; they will declare the Lord to a new generation.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A seed shall serve him; It shall be told of the Lord unto the next generation.
KJV
A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
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This verse in Psalms 22
Commentary
12 notes on this verse"A seed shall serve him." Posterity shall perpetuate the worship of the Most High. The kingdom of truth on earth shall never fail. As one generation is called to its rest, another will arise in its stead. We need have no fear for the true apostolic succession; that is safe enough. "It shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation." He will reckon the ages by the succession of the saints, and set his accounts according to the families of the faithful. Generations of sinners come not into the genealogy of the skies.
This site's exposition
All the ends of the earth
on Psalms 22:27-31
The psalm widens past Israel to every nation, the rich who feast and those who go down to the dust alike. Verses 30 and 31 carry it to a people yet unborn, who will hear of His righteousness. The psalm ends on one Hebrew word, He has done it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And My Soul shall live to Him." And My Soul, which in the contempt of this world seems to men as it were to die, shall live, not to itself, but to Him. "And My seed shall serve Him" [Psalm 22:30]. And My deeds, or they who through Me believe in Him, shall serve Him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"And my soul." Here the effect with respect to the spiritual is set forth. The soul of Christ comprises those in whom the Holy Spirit rests, namely the spiritual, who relate to God in two ways. First, with respect to the heart, because they live …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Their application to Christ: A seed shall serve him, shall keep up the solemn worship of him and profess and practice obedience to him as their Master and Lord. Note, God will have a church in the world to the end of time; and, in order to that, there shall be a succession of professing Christians and gospel ministers from generation to generation.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly. Some think they find Christ in the title of this psalm, upon Aijeleth Shahar -- The hind of the morning. Christ is as the swift hind upon the mountains of spices ( Cant. viii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A seed - Christ shall not want a seed or posterity, for though the Jewish nation will generally reject him, the Gentiles shall come in their stead. A generation - That believing seed shall be reputed both by God and men, The generation, or people of the Lord, as the Jews formerly were.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A seed shall serve him,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
His case illustrates God's righteous government. Beyond the existing time and people, others shall be brought to acknowledge and worship God; the fat ones, or the rich as well as the poor, the helpless who cannot keep themselves alive, shall together unite in celebrating God's delivering power, and transmit to unborn people the records of His grace.
The transition is very marked; from a horrible tempest all is changed into calm. The darkness of Calvary at length passed away from the face of nature, and from the soul of the Redeemer, and beholding the light of his triumph and its future results the Saviour smiled. We have followed him through the gloom, let us attend him in the returning light. It will be well still to regard the words as a part of our Lord's soliloquy upon the cross, uttered in his mind during the last few moments before his death.
Shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation - They shall be called Christians after the name of Christ.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A seed shall serve him - A people; a race. The word used here, and rendered “seed” - זרע zera‛ - means properly “a sowing;” then, a planting, a plantation; then. seed sown - of plants, trees, or grain; and then, a generation of men - children, offspring, posterity: Gen 3:15; Gen 13:16; Gen 15:5, Gen 15:13; et al. Hence, it means a race, stock, or family. It is used here as denoting those who belong to the family of God; his children. Compare Isa 6:13; Isa 65:9, Isa 65:23. The meaning here is, that, as the result of the work performed by the sufferer, many would be brought to serve God. It - To wit, the seed mentioned; the people referred to. Shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation - The word here rendered “Lord” is not יהוה Yahweh, but אדני 'Âdônay, a word which is often used as a name of God - and should not be printed here in small capitals. Prof. Alexander renders this, it seems to me improperly, “It shall be related of the Lord to the next generation.” So DeWette and Hengstenberg. But the common rendering appears to me to furnish a better signification, and to be more in accordance with the meaning of the original. According to this the idea is, that the seed - the people referred to - would be reckoned to the Lord as a generation of his own people, a race, a tribe, a family pertaining to him. They would be regarded as such by him; they would be so estimated by mankind. They would not be a generation of aliens and strangers, but a generation of his people and friends. Compare Psa 87:6.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֶ֥רַע | zera' | offspring | H2233 → | 229 times |
| יַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּ | yaavdenu | it will serve him | H5647 → | 288 times |
| יְסֻפַּ֖ר | yesupar | it will be recounted | H5608 → | 159 times |
| לַֽאדֹנָ֣י | ladonai | of [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| לַדּֽוֹר׃ | lador | to the generation | H1755 → | 167 times |
זֶ֥רַעoffspring
zera'H2233 →229 times
יַֽעַבְדֶ֑נּוּit will serve him
yaavdenuH5647 →288 times
יְסֻפַּ֖רit will be recounted
yesuparH5608 →159 times
לַֽאדֹנָ֣יof [the] Lord
ladonaiH136 →440 times
לַדּֽוֹר׃to the generation
ladorH1755 →167 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
1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
it leads to
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
- Revelation 1:6
who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
- Revelation 5:10
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
- Isaiah 61:6
But you will be called the priests of the LORD; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will feed on the wealth of nations, and you will boast in their…
- Exodus 19:5–6
Through
Hebrews 2:13And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 8:17–18
I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.
- Isaiah 8:17–18
Through
Matthew 3:9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
it leads to
- Luke 3:8
Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up…
- Romans 9:7–8
Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
- Luke 3:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 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, Expositions on the Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 22; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.