Psalms 29

General context

The psalm calls on the mighty to give the Lord glory and strength, to give him the glory due to his name and to worship him in the beauty of holiness. It then describes the voice of the Lord: it is upon the waters, where the God of glory thunders; it is powerful and full of majesty; it breaks the cedars of Lebanon and makes them skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn; it divides the flames of fire; it shakes the wilderness of Kadesh; it makes the hinds calve and strips the forests, and in his temple every one speaks of his glory. The Lord sits upon the flood and sits King for ever. The last verse says the Lord will give strength to his people and bless his people with peace.

Cited passages: Psalms 29:1, Psalms 29:2, Psalms 29:3, Psalms 29:4, Psalms 29:5, Psalms 29:6, Psalms 29:7, Psalms 29:8, Psalms 29:9, Psalms 29:10, Psalms 29:11

Psalms 29 (KJV)

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

The text as printed carries no heading, so no author, occasion or instrument is stated in this source. No "I" speaks; the psalm addresses "ye mighty" in verses 1-2 and then describes, and it does not say who the mighty are. The places named are Lebanon, Sirion, the wilderness of Kadesh and "his temple"; the text gives them as places the voice reaches and does not say where the speaker stands. In verse 6 "them" that skip like a calf follows the cedars of verse 5, and the same verse names Lebanon and Sirion, so the English leaves open what exactly skips. The breaking, shaking, dividing of fire and calving are stated as what the voice does, and no single storm or occasion is narrated. "The flood" on which the Lord sits is not identified. "His people" in the last verse are not named. There is no Selah.

Cited passages: Psalms 29:1, Psalms 29:5, Psalms 29:6, Psalms 29:8, Psalms 29:9, Psalms 29:10, Psalms 29:11

Literary context

The psalm is built on repetition. "Give unto the Lord" comes three times in verses 1-2, and "The voice of the Lord" seven times in verses 3-9, each time followed by what the voice does. Glory runs through the first half, "glory and strength", "the glory due unto his name", "the God of glory", and returns in the temple where "every one speak of his glory". Strength frames the whole: the mighty are told to give the Lord strength at the start, and the Lord gives strength to his people at the end. The voice's effects are physical, breaking, shaking, dividing fire, making hinds calve, stripping forests, and they move from the waters to the cedars to the wilderness to the forests before the single line set in the temple. The close changes verbs from breaking and shaking to sitting, "sitteth upon the flood", "sitteth King for ever", and the last word of a poem about thunder is peace.

Cited passages: Psalms 29:1, Psalms 29:2, Psalms 29:3, Psalms 29:4, Psalms 29:5, Psalms 29:7, Psalms 29:9, Psalms 29:10, Psalms 29:11

Key moments

1. Give unto the Lord (Psalms 29:1). The mighty are told to give the Lord glory and strength.
2. Voice upon the waters (Psalms 29:3). The voice of the Lord is upon the waters and the God of glory thunders.
3. Cedars broken (Psalms 29:5). The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
4. Wilderness shaken (Psalms 29:8). The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
5. Every one speaks of his glory (Psalms 29:9). In his temple every one speaks of his glory.
6. King upon the flood (Psalms 29:10). The Lord sits upon the flood and sits King for ever.
7. Strength and peace (Psalms 29:11). The Lord will give his people strength and bless them with peace.

For reflection

After nine verses of thunder, breaking and shaking, the last word of the psalm is peace; what does the poem suggest connects the voice that breaks cedars with the blessing of the people?

People in this chapter

• David