Psalms 76:11
in Psalms 76Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Vow, and pay unto Jehovah your God: Let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
KJV
Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
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This verse in Psalms 76
Commentary
10 notes on this verseVow, and pay unto the Lord your God. Well may we do so in memory of such mercies and judgments. To vow or not is a matter of choice, but to discharge our vows is our bounden duty. He who would defraud God, his own God, is a wretch indeed. He keeps his promises, let not his people fail in theirs. He is their faithful God and deserves to have a faithful people. Let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
This site's exposition
Even the wrath of man
on Psalms 76:10-12
Even the wrath of man will end in praise to God, and the survivors of that wrath He puts on like a garment. The call that follows is to make vows to the LORD and keep them, and bring tribute from the lands around. He breaks the spirits of princes.
This site's exposition
Make and fulfill your vows
Spurgeon noted that to make a vow is left to choice, but to fulfill it is a duty. Clarke read the One to be feared as the Terrible One. The neighboring lands had watched the Assyrians fall and had reason to bring tribute.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Vow ye, and pay to the Lord our God" [Psalm 76:11]. Let each man vow what he is able, and pay it. Do not vow and not pay: but let every man vow, and pay what he can. Be not slow to vow: for you will accomplish the vows by powers not your own. You will fail, if on yourselves ye rely: but if on Him to whom you vow ye rely, you will be safe to pay. "Vow ye, and pay to the Lord our God." What ought we all in common to vow? To believe in Him, to hope from Him for life eternal, to live godly according to a measure common to all. For there is a certain measure common to all men. To commit no theft is not a thing enjoined merely upon one devoted to continence, and not enjoined upon the married woman: to commit no adultery is enjoined upon all men: not to love wine-bibbing, whereby the soul is swallowed up, and does corrupt in herself the Temple of God, is enjoined to all alike: not to be proud, is enjoined to all men alike: not to slay man, not to hate a brother, not to lay a plot to destroy any one, is enjoined to all in common. The whole of this we all ought to vow. There are also vows proper for individuals: one vowes to God conjugal chastity, that he will know no other woman besides his wife: so also the woman, that she will know no other man besides her husband. Other men also vow, even though they have used such a marriage, that beyond this they will have no such thing, that they will neither desire nor admit the like: and these men have vowed a greater vow than the former. Others vow even virginity from the beginning of life, that they will even know no such thing as those who having experienced have relinquished: and these men have vowed the greatest vow. Others vow that their house shall be a place of entertainment for all the Saints that may come: a great vow they vow. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Not that God needs any present we can bring, or can be benefited by it; but thus we must give him honour and own that we have our all from him. Our prayers and praises, and especially our hearts, are the presents we should bring to the Lord our God. The reasons to enforce this duty: Render to all their due, fear to whom fear is due; and is it not due to God?
4 Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. 5 The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. 6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God. Well may we do so in memory of such mercies and judgments. To vow or not is a matter of choice, but to discharge our vows is our bounden duty. He who would defraud God, his own God, is a wretch indeed. He keeps his promises, let not his people fail in theirs. He is their faithful God and deserves to have a faithful people. Let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. Let surrounding nations submit to the only living God, let his own people with alacrity present their offerings, and let his priests and Levites be leaders in the sacred sacrifice. He who deserves to be praised as our God does, should not have mere verbal homage, but substantial tribute. Dread Sovereign, behold I give myself to thee.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Vow, and pay unto the Lord - Bind yourselves to him, and forget not your obligations. Let all that be round about him - All the neighboring nations, who shall see God’s judgments against his enemies, should Bring presents unto him - Give him that homage which is due unto him. That ought to be feared - למורא lammora, “to the terrible One;” lest they be consumed as the Assyrians have been.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
vow, and pay unto the Lord your God - That is, Pay your vows, or sacredly observe them. On the word “vow,” see the notes at Psa 22:25. Compare Psa 50:14; Psa 56:12; Psa 66:13. The word refers to a voluntary promise made to God. Let all that be round about him - All that worship him, or that profess to honor him. Bring presents - Bring gifts or offerings; things expressive of gratitude and homage. See the notes at Psa 45:12. Compare Isa 16:1, note; Isa 18:7, note; Isa 60:5, note. Unto him that ought to be feared - Margin, “to fear.” The meaning would be well expressed by the word dread; “to the Dread One.” It was not to inspire fear that the presents were to be brought; but they were to be brought to One who had shown that he was the proper object of dread or reverence.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For man’s anger will thank you The anger of the wicked results in the creatures thanking the Holy One, blessed be He. When they show their anger and the Holy One, blessed be He, punishes them, everyone praises Him when they see that their anger is of no avail.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
When God rises for judgment to execute judgment upon His enemies, to save Hezekiah and his company.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נִֽדֲר֣וּ | nidaru | make vows | H5087 → | |
| וְשַׁלְּמוּ֮ | veshalemu | and pay [them] | H7999 → | 116 times |
| לַיהוָ֪ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱֽלֹהֵ֫יכֶ֥ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| סְבִיבָ֑יו | sevivav | [those] around him | H5439 → | 336 times |
| יוֹבִ֥ילוּ | yovilu | let them bring | H2986 → | 18 times |
| שַׁ֝֗י | shai | a gift | H7862 → | |
| לַמּוֹרָֽא׃ | lamora' | to the awesome one | H4172 → |
נִֽדֲר֣וּmake vows
nidaruH5087 →
וְשַׁלְּמוּ֮and pay [them]
veshalemuH7999 →116 times
לַיהוָ֪הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱֽלֹהֵ֫יכֶ֥םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
סְבִיבָ֑יו[those] around him
sevivavH5439 →336 times
יוֹבִ֥ילוּlet them bring
yoviluH2986 →18 times
שַׁ֝֗יa gift
shaiH7862 →
לַמּוֹרָֽא׃to the awesome one
lamora'H4172 →
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 50:14Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Psalms 56:12
Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.
- Deuteronomy 23:21
If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
- Psalms 107:21–22
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
- Psalms 116:12–14
How can I repay the LORD for all His goodness to me?
- Hebrews 13:15
Through
Genesis 31:42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen…
it leads to
- Psalms 31:7
I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul.
- Psalms 31:7
Through
Numbers 30:2If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.
it leads to
- Psalms 50:14
Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
- Psalms 116:14
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.
- Psalms 50:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
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 76; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.