God’s Word Translation
Psalms 104:9
9Water cannot cross the boundary you set and cannot come back to 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again 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.
Context of Psalms 104:9
7and fled because of your threat. Water ran away at the sound of your thunder. 8The mountains rose and the valleys sank to the place you appointed for them. Water cannot cross the boundary you set and cannot come back to cover the earth. 10You make water gush from springs into valleys. It flows between the mountains. 11Every wild animal drinks ⌞from them⌟. 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 water in the sea like a dam and puts the oceans in his storehouses.
- Genesis 9:11I am making my promise to you. Never again will all life be killed by floodwaters. Never again will there be a flood that destroys the earth.”
- Job 26:10He marks the horizon on the surface of the water at the boundary where light meets dark.
- Job 38:10when I set a limit for it and put up bars and gates,
- Isaiah 54:9“To me this is like Noah’s floodwaters, when I swore an oath that Noah’s floodwaters would never cover the earth again. So now I swear an oath not to be angry with you or punish you.
- Jeremiah 5:22Don’t you fear me?” asks the Lord. “Don’t you tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it cannot cross. Although the waves toss continuously, they can’t break through. Although they roar, they can’t cross 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries