Psalms 86:9
in Psalms 86All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; And they shall glorify thy name.
KJV
All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
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This verse in Psalms 86
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAll nations whom thou hast made, and these include all mankind, since they all come of the first Adam—thy creature, and their lives are all distinct creations of thine omnipotence. All these shall come with penitent hearts, in thine own way, to thine own self, and worship before thee, O Lord. Because thou art thus above all gods, the people who have been so long deceived shall at last discover thy greatness, and shall render thee the worship which is thy due: thou hast created them all, and unto thee shall they all yield homage.
This site's exposition
there is none like You among the gods
on Psalms 86:8-10
Moses sang the same question at the sea, who among the gods is like You, O LORD, at Exodus 15:11. Verse 9 widens the psalm past Israel to all the nations God made, coming to bow and glorify His name. Verse 10 closes on one claim: You alone are God.
This site's exposition
All the nations You have made
The nations You have made gives the reason they will come. Augustine and Charles Spurgeon both traced every nation to Adam, so no people stands outside its Maker's claim. Augustine noted the words were sung when only a few in one people worshiped God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"All nations that Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord" (ver. 9). He has announced the Church: "All nations." If there is any nation which God hath not made, it will not worship Him: but there is no nation which God hath not made; because God made Adam and Eve, the source of all nations, thence all nations sprang. All nations therefore hath God made. When was this said? When before Him there worshipped none but a few holy men in one people of the Hebrews, then this was said: and see now what it is which was said: "All nations that Thou hast made," etc. When these things were spoken, they were not seen, and they were believed: now that they are seen, why are they denied? "All nations that Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord, and shall glorify Thy Name."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It was by Christ that God made all nations, for without him was not any thing made that was made, and therefore through Christ, and by the power of his gospel and grace, all nations shall be brought to worship before God, Isa. lxvi.
All nations whom thou hast made,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
All nations whom thou hast made, and these include all mankind, since they all come of the first Adam—thy creature, and their lives are all distinct creations of thine omnipotence. All these shall come with penitent hearts, in thine own way, to thine own self, and worship before thee, O Lord. Because thou art thus above all gods, the people who have been so long deceived shall at last discover thy greatness, and shall render thee the worship which is thy due: thou hast created them all, and unto thee shall they all yield homage. This was David's reason for resorting to the Lord in trouble, for he felt that one day all men would acknowledge the Lord to be the only God. It makes us content to be in the minority today, when we are sure that the majority will be with us tomorrow, ay, and that the truth will one day be carried unanimously and heartily. David was not a believer in the theory that the world will grow worse and worse, and that the dispensation will wind up with general darkness, and idolatry. Earth's sun is to go down amid tenfold night if some of our prophetic brethren are to be believed. Not so do we expect, but we look for day when the dwellers in all lands shall learn righteousness, shall trust in the Saviour, shall worship thee alone, O God, and shall glorify thy name. The modern notion has greatly damped the zeal of the church for missions, and the sooner it is shown to be unscriptural the better for the cause of God. It neither consorts with prophecy, honours God, nor inspires the church with ardour. Far hence be it driven.
All nations - Thy word shall be proclaimed among all the Gentiles: they shall receive thy testimony, and worship thee as the only true and living God.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
All nations whom thou hast made shall come ... - In this verse the psalmist expresses his belief that the conviction which he entertained about the ability of God to save - about his being the only true God - would yet pervade all the nations of the earth; that they all would yet be convinced that he was the true God, and would come and worship him alone. So clear to him seemed to be the evidence of the existence and perfections of God that he did not doubt that all people would come yet to see it also, and to acknowledge him. Compare Isa 2:2-3; Isa 60:3-14; Psa 2:8; Psa 72:17. And shall glorify thy name - Shall honor thee as the true God. They will renounce their idols; they will come and worship thee. This belief - this hope - is held out through the entire volume of revealed truth. It cheered and encouraged the hearts of the saints of the Old Testament and the New; and it may and should cheer and encourage our hearts. It is not less certain because it seems to be long delayed. To the view of man this is all that is certain in the future. No man can predict what will occur in regard to any of the existing political institutions on the earth - either the monarchies of the old world, or the republics of the new. No man can tell in reference to the arts; to the sciences; to social life; to manners; to the cities and towns which now exist on the earth, what they will be in the far distant future. Only one thing is certain in that future - that the kingdom of God will be set up, and that the Redeemer’s throne will be established over all the earth; that the time is to come when “all nations shall come and worship before God, and shall glorify his name.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and perform wonders, You, O God, alone Before the angels were created, heaven and earth were created. Therefore, all the nations will glorify Your name.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| גּוֹיִ֤ם׀ | goyim | [the] nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשִׂ֗יתָ | ʾasita | you have made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יָב֤וֹאוּ׀ | yavou | they will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וְיִשְׁתַּחֲו֣וּ | veyishtachavu | and they may bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לְפָנֶ֣יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֑י | ʾadonai | O Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| וִֽיכַבְּד֣וּ | vikhabedu | so they may glorify | H3513 → | 113 times |
| לִשְׁמֶֽךָ׃ | lishmekha | <to> name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
גּוֹיִ֤ם׀[the] nations
goyimH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשִׂ֗יתָyou have made
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
יָב֤וֹאוּ׀they will come
yavouH935 →2568 times
וְיִשְׁתַּחֲו֣וּand they may bow down
veyishtachavuH7812 →172 times
לְפָנֶ֣יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
אֲדֹנָ֑יO Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
וִֽיכַבְּד֣וּso they may glorify
vikhabeduH3513 →113 times
לִשְׁמֶֽךָ׃<to> name your
lishmekhaH8034 →864 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
Revelation 15:4Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
it leads to
- Malachi 1:11
For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 22:27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 10:7
Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.
- Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign…
- Revelation 14:7
And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea…
- Malachi 1:11
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…
- Psalms 138:4
All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth.
- 1 Kings 8:43
Through
Isaiah 66:23From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 46:1
“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The gate of the inner court that faces east must be kept shut during the six days of work, but on the Sabbath day and on the…
- Ezekiel 46:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 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 86; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.