English Standard Version
Psalms 104:9
9You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
Psalms 104:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
- New International Version (NIV)You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then you set a firm boundary for the seas, so they would never again cover the earth.
Context of Psalms 104:9
7At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight. 8The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. 10You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; 11they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Read all of Psalms 104Psalms 104:9 word by word
גְּֽבוּל־שַׂ֭מְתָּ בַּל־יַֽעֲבֹר֑וּן בַּל־יְ֝שׁוּב֗וּן לְכַסּ֥וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 104:9
- Psalms 33:7He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.
- Genesis 9:11I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
- Job 26:10He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness.
- Job 38:10and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors,
- Isaiah 54:9"This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you.
- Jeremiah 5:22Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
Commentaries on Psalms 104:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass - And what is this bound? The flux and reflux of the sea, occasioned by the solar and lunar attraction, the rotation of the earth on its own axis, and the gravitation of the waters to the center of the earth. And what is the cause of all these? The will and energy of God. Thus the sea is prevented from drowning the earth equally where there are flat shores as where the sea seems hemmed in by huge mounds of land…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over - See Job 26:10, note; Job 38:10-11, note. That they turn not again to cover the earth - As it was before the dry land appeared; or as the earth was when “darkness was upon the face of the deep” Genesis 1:2, and when all was mingled earth and water. It is “possible” that in connection with this, the psalmist may also have had his eye on the facts connected with the deluge in the time of Noah, and the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9The Lord set a firm boundary for the seas to protect the land. This shows that the Lord rules both the sea and the land. This idea also challenged the beliefs of the Canaanites, who celebrated Baal as the god who defeated the sea (see Psalm 29).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-96-9. These verses rather describe the wonders of the flood than the creation (Ge 7:19, 20; 2Pe 3:5, 6). God's method of arresting the flood and making its waters subside is poetically called a "rebuke" (Psa 76:6; Is 50:2), and the process of the flood's subsiding by undulations among the hills and valleys is vividly described.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 104:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 104
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries