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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 110

Psalm 110: The Lord said unto my Lord, a seat at the right hand and a priest for ever

General context

The psalm opens with The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion, and the one addressed is told to rule in the midst of his enemies. His people shall be willing in the day of his power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning, and he has the dew of his youth. The Lord has sworn and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath, judge among the heathen, fill the places with dead bodies and wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way and therefore lift up the head.

Cited passages: Psalms 110:1, Psalms 110:2, Psalms 110:3, Psalms 110:4, Psalms 110:5, Psalms 110:6, Psalms 110:7

Psalms 110 (KJV)

1The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

2The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

3Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

4The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

5The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

6He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

7He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

This source prints no superscription; the psalm is seven verses and begins with The Lord said unto my Lord. Two figures are set side by side in verse 1, printed as the Lord and my Lord, and the text does not name either further; the speaker who calls the second one my Lord is not identified. The one addressed as thou is told to sit and to rule and is called a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek; Melchizedek is named without explanation. Zion is the only place named. Verses 5 to 7 shift to he, and the text does not mark whether he is the Lord at thy right hand or the one seated; the verbs are strike through, judge, fill, wound, drink and lift up. The violence is stated plainly, dead bodies and wounded heads over many countries. There is no Selah. Matthew 22:44 quotes verse 1 as The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool, and Hebrews 5:6 quotes verse 4 with the spelling Melchisedec.

Cited passages: Psalms 110:1, Psalms 110:4, Psalms 110:2, Psalms 110:5, Psalms 110:6, Psalms 110:7, Matthew 22:44, Hebrews 5:6

Literary context

The psalm is two oracles with a description between them. Verse 1 quotes a saying, Sit thou at my right hand, and verse 4 quotes an oath, Thou art a priest for ever; each is introduced by a formula, The Lord said and The Lord hath sworn. The right hand is used twice with the sides reversed: in verse 1 the addressed one sits at the Lord's right hand, and in verse 5 the Lord is at thy right hand. Feet and heads frame the poem: enemies made a footstool at the start, heads wounded and a head lifted up at the end. Verse 3 is the one verse about the people rather than the ruler, and its images are of morning, womb and dew. The last verse drops from kings and countries to a brook in the way, a small act before the final lifting of the head.

Cited passages: Psalms 110:1, Psalms 110:4, Psalms 110:5, Psalms 110:6, Psalms 110:3, Psalms 110:7

Key moments

  1. Sit at my right hand (Psalms 110:1). The Lord tells my Lord to sit until his enemies are made his footstool.
  2. The rod out of Zion (Psalms 110:2). The Lord sends the rod of strength from Zion and commands rule among enemies.
  3. Dew of thy youth (Psalms 110:3). The people are willing in the day of power, with images of morning and dew.
  4. A priest for ever (Psalms 110:4). The Lord swears an oath naming the order of Melchizedek.
  5. Judgment among the heathen (Psalms 110:6). Kings are struck through and heads wounded over many countries.
  6. The brook in the way (Psalms 110:7). He drinks from the brook and lifts up the head.

For reflection

The same figure is told to sit and to rule, and is called both a ruler among enemies and a priest for ever. What does the psalm ask a reader to make of one person holding a throne and a priesthood at once?

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