Psalms 46:10
What does Psalms 46:10 mean?
A plain-English look at Psalms 46:10 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Psalms 46:10 means
This verse delivers a direct, authoritative command, "Be still, and know that I am God." It calls for humanity to cease their striving, their fear, and their rebellion, and to recognize God's supreme sovereignty. The command to "know" implies an experiential understanding and submission to His divine authority. God then declares His unwavering intention: "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth," affirming His ultimate global supremacy and the inevitability of His universal recognition, regardless of human defiance.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Be at peace in the knowledge that I am God: I will be lifted up among the nations, I will be honoured through all the earth.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Desist, and know that I <FI>am<Fi> God, I am exalted among nations, I am exalted in the earth.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752The princes of the people are gathered together, with the God of Abraham: for the strong gods of the earth are exceedingly exalted.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Be still, and know that I amGod: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Context
Following the powerful demonstration of God's ability to dismantle human warfare in verse 9, this verse offers God's direct address to humanity. It is a command to cease striving and acknowledge His divine authority, grounding the previous actions in His identity. This personal declaration of His future exaltation among all nations serves as a foundational claim that will be reiterated as the psalm concludes.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 2 Kings 19:12
Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that were in Telassar?
- 1 Samuel 17:46
This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
- Isaiah 5:16
but Jehovah of hosts is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
- Psalms 57:5
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let thy glory be above all the earth.
- Zechariah 2:13
Be silent, all flesh, before Jehovah; for he is waked up out of his holy habitation.
- Revelation 15:3
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.
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