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Psalms 89:6

in Psalms 89

For who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

For who in the skies can be compared unto Jehovah? Who among the sons of the mighty is like unto Jehovah,

KJV

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

This verse in Psalms 89

Commentary

11 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Homily 66, on Psalm 88 (Alternate Series) · Written before 420.

For who among the clouds shall be equal to the Lord? The clouds are the prophets, the clouds are the apostles, who pour showers of teachings upon the dry hearts of men. Who shall be like the Lord among the sons of God? All the saints are named with the appellation and title "sons of God," because they are sons by adoption; but the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is alone the Son properly by nature. Of whom it is said, Who among the clouds or among the sons of God shall be like the Lord?

This site's exposition

The heavens praise Your wonders

on Psalms 89:5-8

The praise here is in the heavens, and the assembly and the council are of the holy ones. Heavenly beings in verse 6 renders bene elim, sons of God, and none of them can be compared with the LORD. Verse 8 names Him God of Hosts, with faithfulness around Him.

This site's exposition

Who among the heavenly beings

The question expects the answer no one. Albert Barnes read the heavenly beings as the angels, great in rank and still beyond comparison with God. Charles Spurgeon heard in the double question an echo of the song Israel sang after crossing the Red Sea.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Augustine of Hippo

Exposition on Psalm 89 · Written before 430.

proposed

"For who is he among the clouds, who shall be compared unto You, Lord!" [Psalm 89:6]. Is this to be the praise of the Heavens, is this to be their rain? What? Are the preachers confident, because "none among the clouds shall be compared unto the Lord"? Does it appear to you, brethren, a high ground of praise, that the clouds cannot be compared with their Creator? If it is taken in its literal, not in its mystical meaning, it is not so: what? Are the stars that are above the clouds to be compared with the Lord? What? Can the Sun, Moon, Angels, Heavens, be even compared with the Lord? Why is it then that he says, as if he meant some high praise, "For who is he among the clouds?" etc. We understand, my brethren, those clouds, as the Heavens, to be the preachers of truth; Prophets, Apostles, the announcers of the word of God....If therefore the clouds are the preachers of the truth, let us first enquire why they are clouds. For the same men are Heavens and clouds: Heavens from the brightness of the truth, clouds from the hidden things of the flesh: for all clouds are obscure, owing to their mortality: and they come and go. It is on account of these very obscurities of the flesh, that is, of the clouds, that the Apostle says, "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness." [1 Corinthians 4:5] You see at this moment what a man is saying: but what he has in his heart, you cannot see: what is forced from the cloud, you see, what is kept within the cloud, you see not. For whose eyes pierce the cloud? The clouds therefore are the preachers of the truth in the flesh. The Creator of all things Himself came in the flesh....We are called clouds on account of the flesh, and we are preachers of the truth on account of the showers of the clouds: but our flesh comes in one way, His by another. […]

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

They are sons of the mighty, but which of them can be likened unto the Lord? Nobles are princes' peers; some parity there is between them. But there is none between God and the angels; they are not his peers.
For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 4 (1874)

proposed

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord —therefore all heaven worships him, seeing none can equal him. Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?—therefore the assemblies of the saints on earth adore him, seeing none can rival him. Until we can find one equally worthy to be praised, we will give unto the Lord alone all the homage of our praise.

A commentator

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 4 (1874)

proposed

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord —therefore all heaven worships him, seeing none can equal him. Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?—therefore the assemblies of the saints on earth adore him, seeing none can rival him. Until we can find one equally worthy to be praised, we will give unto the Lord alone all the homage of our praise. Neither among the sons of the morning nor the sons of the mighty can any peer be found for Jehovah, yea none that can be mentioned in the same day; therefore he is rightly praised. Since the Lord Jesus, both as God and as man, is far above all creatures, he also is to be devoutly worshipped. How full of poetic fire is this verse! How bold is the challenge! How triumphant the holy boasting! The sweet singer dwells upon the name of Jehovah with evident exultation; to him the God of Israel is God indeed and God alone. He closely follows the language long before rehearsed by Miriam, when she sang, "Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is like thee?" His thoughts are evidently flying back to the days of Moses and the marvels of the Red Sea, when God was gloriously known by his incommunicable name; there is a ring of timbrels in the double question, and a sound as of the twinkling feet of rejoicing maidens. Have we no poets now? Is there not a man among us who can compose hymns flaming with this spirit? O, Spirit of the living God, be thou the inspirer of some master minds among us!
3 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

For who in the heaven - שחק shachak signifies the ethereal regions, all visible or unbounded space; the universe. Who is like Jesus? given in his human nature none of the sons of the mighty can be compared with him. He atones for the sin of the world, and saves to the uttermost all who come unto God through him. This may also be considered a reproof to idolaters. Is there any among the heavenly hosts like to God? Even the most glorious of them were made by his hands. Can the stars, or the more distant planets, or the moon, or the sun, be likened unto God most high? Who among the sons of the mighty - Instead of אלים elim, mighty ones, four of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS. have איל eil, strength: - sons of strength, strong persons. Several of the Versions seem to have read אלהים Elohim, God, instead of אלים elim, strong ones. So my old Psalter, following the Vulgate - For wha in the clowdes sal be evened to Lorde; like sal be to God in sons of God! which it paraphrases thus: “Emang al haly men nane may be evened to Ihu Crist: and nane may be like to hym in God’s sons: for he is God’s son be kynde, and thai thrugh grace.”
For who in the heaven ... - literally, In the cloud; that is, in the sky. The idea is that none in the regions above - the upper world - can be compared with God. There is no other god - there is no one among the angels, great and glorious as they are, that can be likened to him. Who among the sons of the mighty ... - The angels - regarded as mighty. The “sons of the mighty” on earth are spoken of as mighty men - as men of power - as men of exalted rank. So here, the idea is, that none of the angels, though of exalted rank (“principalities,” or “powers,” compare Rom 8:38; Eph 1:21), could be put in comparison with God. See the notes at Isa 40:25.

Modern Voices1 voice

The same council language found in Psalm 82 appears in Psalm 89 (as I noted in the book), and the latter psalm specifies that the council and its sons of God are "in the skies" (the spiritual realm; Psa 89:5-8, noting v. 6 in particular).

The words behind it

9 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • כִּ֤יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • מִ֣יwho?

    miH4310 →423 times

  • בַ֭שַּׁחַקin the cloud[s]

    vashachakH7834 →21 times

  • יַעֲרֹ֣ךְis he comparable

    yaarokhH6186 →74 times

  • לַיהוָ֑הto Yahweh

    layahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • יִדְמֶ֥הis he like?

    yidmehH1819 →30 times

  • לַ֝יהוָ֗ה<to> Yahweh

    layahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • בִּבְנֵ֥יamong [the] sons of

    bivneiH1121 →4930 times

  • אֵלִים׃gods

    ʾelimH410 →241 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 86:8

    O Lord, there is none like You among the gods, nor any works like Yours.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 15:11

      Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

      Reached by 4 separate paths from here.

    • Psalms 89:8

      O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You? O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Deuteronomy 3:24

      “O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your greatness and power to Your servant. For what god in heaven or on earth can perform such works and mighty acts as Yours?

  • Through

    Psalms 113:5

    Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high?

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 40:25

      “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Psalms 29:1

    Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 96:7–9

      Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 10:6

    There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 33:26

      “There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to your aid, and the clouds in His majesty.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Psalms 96:4

      For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

    • Psalms 48:1

      Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain.

Where this verse is studied

About Psalms

The anointing of Solomon. Cornelis de Vos, 17th century. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
The anointing of Solomon. Cornelis de Vos, 17th century. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
This page draws on 11 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 89; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jerome, Homily 66, on Psalm 88 (Alternate Series); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Michael S. Heiser, "Response to Dr. Thomas Howe's Thoughts on The Unseen Realm" (drmsh.com).