New English Translation
Psalms 72:1
1O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! Grant the king’s son the ability to make fair decisions!
Psalms 72:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
- New International Version (NIV)Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
Context of Psalms 72:1
O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! Grant the king’s son the ability to make fair decisions! 2Then he will judge your people fairly, and your oppressed ones equitably. 3The mountains will bring news of peace to the people, and the hills will announce justice.
Read all of Psalms 72Psalms 72:1 word by word
אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶיךָ לְמֶ֣לֶךְ תֵּ֑ן וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥ לְבֶן־מֶֽלֶךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 72:1
- 1 Kings 1:39Zadok the priest took a horn filled with olive oil from the tent and poured it on Solomon; the trumpet was blown and all the people declared, “Long live King Solomon!”
- 1 Chronicles 22:12Only may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he places you in charge of Israel, so you may obey the law of the Lord your God.
- 1 Chronicles 29:19Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations.”
- 2 Chronicles 1:10Now give me wisdom and discernment so I can effectively lead this nation. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours.”
- Isaiah 11:2The Lord’s spirit will rest on him – a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.
- John 3:34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly.
- Hebrews 1:8but of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
- 1 Kings 1:47The king’s servants have even come to congratulate our master King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!’ Then the king leaned on the bed
- 1 Kings 2:1When David was close to death, he told Solomon his son:
- Jeremiah 23:5“I, the Lord, promise that a new time will certainly come when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David. He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding and will do what is just and right in the land.
Commentaries on Psalms 72:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Give the king thy judgments - Let Solomon receive thy law, as the civil and ecclesiastical code by which he is to govern the kingdom. And thy righteousness unto the king's son - Righteousness may signify equity. Let him not only rule according to the strict letter of thy law, that being the base on which all his decisions shall be founded; but let him rule also according to equity, that rigorous justice may never become oppressive. Solomon is called here…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Give the king - Supposing the psalm to have been composed by David in view of the inauguration of his son and successor, this is a prayer that God would bestow on him the qualifications which would tend to secure a just, a protracted, and a peaceful reign. Though it is to be admitted that the psalm was designed to refer ultimately to the Messiah, and to be descriptive of “his” reign, yet there is no impropriety in supposing that the psalmist believed the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1David begins with a prayer for Solomon. (1) He passes into a prophecy of the glories of his reign, and of Christ's kingdom. (2-17) Praise to God. (18-20) Verse 1 This psalm belongs to Solomon in part, but to Christ more fully and clearly. Solomon was both the king and the king's son, and his pious father desired that the wisdom of God might be in him, that his reign might be a remembrance of the kingdom of the Messiah. It is the prayer of a father for his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1justice … righteousness: In the ancient Near East, kings were expected to represent justice. For Israel's kings, the standard was higher because they followed the Lord's example.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191. Give the king, &c.--a prayer which is equivalent to a prediction. judgments--the acts, and (figuratively) the principles of a right government (Joh 5:22; 9:39). righteousness--qualifications for conducting such a government. king's son--same person as a king--a very proper title for Christ, as such in both natures. 2, &c. The effects of such a government by one thus endowed are detailed. thy people ... and thy poor--or, "meek," the pious subjects of…Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 72:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 72
- 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
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