Psalms 92:8 — Word Study
WLCוְאַתָּ֥ה מָר֗וֹם לְעֹלָ֥ם יְהוָֽה׃
BSAto sproutpârach wickedrâshâʻ likekᵉmôw vegetationʻeseb to blossomtsûwts allkôl to workpâʻal evilʼâven to destroyshâmad perpetuityʻad tillʻad
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּ֥ה | and you | Conjunction, pronoun |
| מָר֗וֹם | [are] height | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| לְעֹלָ֥ם | for ever | Preposition, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | O Yahweh | Noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | But You, O LORD, are exalted forever! |
| KJV | But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. |
| ASV | But thou, O Jehovah, art on high for evermore. |
| YLT | And Thou [art] high to the age, O Jehovah. |
| WEB | But you, Yahweh, are on high forever more. |
| BBE | But you, O Lord, are on high for ever. |
The translations agree on the central message of the verse, highlighting the eternal exaltation of the LORD.
The sentence consists of a main clause followed by a prepositional phrase indicating duration.
7 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
subjectבְּ
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Psalms 92:8
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Eternal Exaltation of the LORDgenerated
Psalm 92:8 emphasizes the contrast between the temporary flourishing of the wicked and the eternal exaltation of the LORD. The psalmist asserts that while evildoers may seem to thrive, they will ultimately face destruction, whereas the LORD reigns supreme forever. This theme of divine sovereignty is echoed throughout the psalm, highlighting God's unchanging nature in contrast to human transience.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psalm 56:2 | My enemies pursue me all day long, for many proudly assail me. |
| 2 | Psalm 83:18 | May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth. |
| 3 | Psalm 102:26–27 | They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on. |
| 4 | Exodus 18:11 | Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.” |
| 5 | Ecclesiastes 5:8 | If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יְהוָֽה, Yahwehgenerated
The name יְהוָה (Yahweh) is the proper name for God in Hebrew, signifying His eternal and self-existent nature. It is often translated as 'the LORD' and is central to the identity of God in the Jewish faith.
In this verse, יְהוָה is addressed directly, emphasizing the personal relationship between God and the psalmist. The use of this name underscores the authority and majesty of God, who is exalted above all creation.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations agree on the key elements of the verse, consistently rendering the LORD as exalted forever.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse centers around the finite verb מָר֗וֹם, are exalted, which serves as the predicate for the subject אַתָּ֥ה, you. The phrase לְעֹלָ֥ם, forever, acts as a prepositional phrase indicating the duration of the exaltation.
The sentence is straightforward, with a clear subject-predicate relationship, emphasizing the everlasting nature of God's exaltation.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the translators chose the word ὑψωμένος, which means 'exalted' or 'lifted up'. This choice reflects a similar meaning to the Hebrew, maintaining the theme of God's supreme position.
The use of ὑψωμένος suggests a focus on God's elevation above all, reinforcing the idea of His unmatched authority.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Psalm 92:8 states that while the wicked may seem to prosper, the LORD is exalted forever. This verse highlights God's eternal nature and sovereignty over all creation.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It signifies that God holds the highest position and authority, unchanging and eternal, above all creation.
While the wicked may flourish temporarily, they will ultimately face destruction, unlike the everlasting exaltation of the LORD.
Yahweh is the personal name of God, emphasizing His eternal and self-existent nature, central to the identity of God in the Hebrew Bible.
It encapsulates the psalm's message of God's sovereignty and eternal nature, contrasting it with the fleeting success of the wicked.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways have I seen God's eternal nature reflected in my life?
- How can I maintain a perspective on God's sovereignty when faced with the success of those who do wrong?
- What does it mean for me to acknowledge the LORD's exaltation in my daily life?
- How can I share the message of God's eternal authority with others?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Augustine of Hippo quotes this verse to discuss God's eternal nature and the fate of the wicked in his Exposition on Psalms 92.
"But You, Lord, art the Most Highest for evermore" [Psalms 92:8]. Waiting above in Your eternity until the season of the wicked be past, and that of the just come.Early Church Fathers on Psalms 92 →
Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Psalms 92:8 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleBut thou, Lord, art most high for evermore,.... God is "the most High"; that is one of his names; he is above all, is higher than the highest; and he dwells on high, and looks down upon the
Read John Gill on Psalms 92 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryBut thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. But thou, Lord, art most high forevermore - literally, 'art height,' etc.; the abstract used for the concrete, to imply that the essence of all that is high is concentrated in Yahweh.
Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 92 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleSo this verse is added by way of opposition to the former, They shall perish, but thou shalt endure, as is said in a like comparison, ; they flourish for a season, but thou rulest for ever to judge and punish them. Or, for (as this Hebrew particle is not seldom used, whereof instances have been formerly given) thou, Lord, art, & c. So this verse gives a reason of the former, as well the first branch of it, why God suffers the wicked to flourish so long, because he is not like man, of short and uncertain continuance here, to whom a little time is long and tedious, who therefore impatiently expects the time of vengeance, and fears lest the offender should escape it; whereas God is…
Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 92 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsPsalms 92:8 But thou, LORD, [art most] high for evermore.Ver. 8. But thou, Lord, art most high, &c.] q.d. Flourish the wicked never so much, shoot they up never so high, thou art higher, and in the thing wherein they deal proudly thou art above them, Exodus 18:11.
Read John Trapp on Psalms 92 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 8. High for evermore.] They are brought down and destroyed; but the Lord is exalted eternally, both for his judgments and his mercies.
Read AdamClarke on Psalms 92 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges4–8. The special ground for praise in the manifestation of Jehovah’s sovereignty.
Read Cambridge on Psalms 92 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleBut thou, Lord, art most high for evermore - In the treatment of the righteous and the wicked, thou wilt maintain thine own exalted place as a sovereign.
Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 92 →The verse in English, compared — 16 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
But You, O LORD, are exalted forever!
But you, Yahweh, are on high forever more.
But You, O LORD, are exalted forever!
But you, O Lord, reign forever!
Tyndale line
But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.
But thou, O Jehovah, art on high for evermore.
But thou, O LORD, art on high for evermore.
But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.
But thou, O Lord, art most High for euermore.
Strictly literal
And thou, Jehovah, art on high for evermore.
And Thou [art] high to the age, O Jehovah.
And You [are] high for all time, O YHWH.
(92:9) But thou art exalted to eternity, O Lord!
But you, Yahweh, will reign forever.
Simplified
But you, Lord, rule on high forever.
But you, O Lord, are on high for ever.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text presents the verse as וְאַתָּ֥ה מָר֗וֹם לְעֹלָ֥ם יְהוָֽה׃, with the Septuagint matching three out of four words. The Dead Sea Scrolls show some agreement with the Masoretic Text, although one word was supplied by an editor, indicating some textual preservation.
וְאַתָּ֥ה מָר֗וֹם לְעֹלָ֥ם יְהוָֽה׃
3 of the 4 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
[בפרח] רשעים כמו עשב
3 words on the leather — 1 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Psalms 92:8
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
אַתָּ֫ה (attah) is a second-person pronoun in Hebrew, used to address someone directly. It has masculine and feminine forms: אַתָּה for singular masculine, אַתְּ for singular feminine, אַתֶּם for plural masculine, and אַתֵּן for plural feminine. The entries indicate variations in form and usage, reflecting the pronoun's grammatical complexity.
אַתָּ֫ה, אָ֑תָּה pron. 2 s. m. thou
base
אתי, i.e. אתִּי, the older & more original form of אַתְּ thou (fem.)
base
אַתְּ, אָ֑תְּ pron. 2 s. f. thou (fem.)
base
אַתֶּם pron. 2 m. pl. you (masc.)
base
אַתֵּן pron. 2 f. pl. you (fem.)
base
H859a אַתָּ֫ה, אָ֑תָּה pron. 2 s. m. thou H859b אתי, i.e. אתִּי, the older & more original form of אַתְּ thou (fem.) H859c אַתְּ, אָ֑תְּ pron. 2 s. f. thou (fem.) H859d אַתֶּם pron. 2 m. pl. you (masc.) H859e אַתֵּן pron. 2 f. pl. you (fem.)
859 'attah at-taw'
or (shortened); aatta {at-taw'}; or wath {ath}; feminine
(irregular) sometimes nattiy {at-tee'}; plural masculine attem
{at- tem'}; feminine atten {at-ten'}; or oattenah
{at-tay'naw}; or fattennah {at-tane'-naw}; a primitive pronoun
of the second person; thou and thee, or (plural) ye and
you:--thee, thou, ye, you.
אַתָּ֫ה (at.tah) — you(m.s.).
you (second pers. sing. masc.)
אתִּי (ti) — you(f.s.).
you (second pers. sing. fem.)
A grammatical form of at.tah (אַתָּ֫ה "you(m.s.)" H0859A)
אַתְּ (at.te) — you(f.s.).
you (second pers. sing. fem.)
A grammatical form of at.tah (אַתָּ֫ה "you(m.s.)" H0859A)
אַתֶּם (at.tem) — you(m.p.).
you (second pers. pl. masc.)
Aramaic equivalent: an.tun (אַנְתּוּן "you" H0608)
אַתֵּן (at.ten) — you(f.p.).
you (second pers. pl. fem.)
A grammatical form of at.tah (אַתָּ֫ה "you(m.s.)" H0859A)
HC/Pp2ms — Conjunction · pronounHC/Pp2ms
מָרוֹם (marowm) means 'height' and encompasses both concrete and abstract uses, referring to elevated places, elevation, and even pride. It can describe physical heights or be used figuratively for dignity and nobility. The word is poetically used in the Old Testament, with its root linked to the concept of altitude.
מָרוֹם n.m. height (poet.)
height, elevation (concr.), elevated place
alone = height of heaven
adv. fig., = proudly
fig. of nobles
base
H4791 מָרוֹם height (poet.)
4791 marowm maw-rome'
from 7311; altitude, i.e. concretely (an elevated place),
abstractly (elevation, figuratively (elation), or adverbially
(aloft):--(far) above, dignity, haughty, height, (most, on)
high (one, place), loftily, upward.
see HEBREW for 07311
מָרוֹם (ma.rom) — height.
1) height
1a) height, elevation, elevated place
1a1) in a high place (adv)
1b) height
1c) proudly (adv)
1d) of nobles (fig.)
HNcmsa — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
עוֹלָם (owlam) refers to concepts of long duration, antiquity, and futurity, encompassing meanings like eternity and perpetual existence. It is derived from a root meaning 'concealed' or 'the vanishing point.' The term is used to describe both ancient times and an indefinite future, indicating continuity and everlastingness.
עוֹלָם 439 n.m. long duration, antiquity, futurity
base
H5769 עוֹלָם long duration, antiquity, futurity
5769 `owlam o-lawm'
or lolam {o-lawm'}; from 5956; properly, concealed, i.e. the
vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future),
i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial
(especially with prepositional prefix) always:--alway(-s),
ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for,
(n-))ever(-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of)
old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world
(+ without end). Compare 5331, 5703.
see HEBREW for 05956
see HEBREW for 05331
see HEBREW for 05703
עוֹלָם (o.lam) — forever: enduring.
: enduring/eternal
1) long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world
1a) ancient time, long time (of past)
1b) (of future)
1b1) for ever, always
1b2) continuous existence, perpetual
1b3) everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity
עוֹלָם (o.lam) — Everlasting.
This name means long duration, everlasting, perpetual
Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)
עוֹלָם (o.lam) — forever: any time.
: any_time
1) long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world
1a) ancient time, long time (of past)
1b) (of future)
1b1) for ever, always
1b2) continuous existence, perpetual
1b3) everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity
עוֹלָם (o.lam) — forever: antiquity.
: old/ancient
HR/Ncmsa — Preposition · noun common masculine singular absoluteHR/Ncmsa
יְהֹוָה (ye.ho.vah) is the proper name of the God of Israel, often rendered as Jehovah or the Lord. It signifies the self-existent or eternal nature of God. The name is closely associated with the revelation to Moses in Exodus 3:12-15 and is used in conjunction with other terms to denote sacred places. Some scholars suggest it derives from a root meaning 'to bring into being.'
יהוה c. 6823 i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel—(1. MT יְהֹוָה 6518 (Qr אֲדֹנָי), or יֱהֹוִה 305 (Qr אֱלֹהִים) 2. Many recent scholars explain יַהְוֶה as Hiph. of הוה (= היה) the one bringing into being, life-giver)
יהוה is not used by E in Gn, but is given Ex 3:12-15 as the name of the God who revealed Himself to Moses at Horeb
יהוה is used with אלהים and suffixes, especially in D
the phrase † אֲנִי יהוה is noteworthy
יהוה is also used with several predicates, to form sacred names of holy places of Yahweh
base
H3068 יהוה i.e. יַהְוֶה n. pr. dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel
3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw'
from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish
national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.
see HEBREW for 01961
see HEBREW for 03050
see HEBREW for 03069
יְהֹוָה (ye.ho.vah) — LORD.
Jehovah = "the existing One"
1) the proper name of the one true God
1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of a.do.na (אֲדֹנָי "Lord" H0136)
יְהֹוָה (ye.ho.vah) — The Lord.
Another name of ye.ru.sha.laim (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם "Jerusalem" H3389)
יְהֹוָה (ye.ho.vah) — (Jerusalem of) the Lord.
Combined with ye.ru.sha.laim (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם "Jerusalem" H3389)
HNpt — Noun properHNpt