Bible Strands
Psalms 110:2
The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses the Davidic king ("my Lord") immediately after commanding him to take the place of honor at His right hand. This declaration marks the transition from enthronement to active royal authority before the final subjugation of hostile forces.
The words — The phrase מַטֵּֽה עֻזּךָ (ma.teh 'u.zeh/Kha) literally reads "staff of your strength," paired with יִשְׁלַח (yish.Lach), "he will stretch out," denoting the active deployment of sovereign power.
The thread — The scepter motif appears in Jeremiah 48:17 as a symbol of shattered earthly power, while the theme of delegated authority and divine empowerment for conflict surfaces in Matthew 28:18 and 2 Corinthians 10:4.
Why it lands — The verse commands the reader to recognize that royal authority originates from Zion and is exercised against opposition, requiring alignment with a ruler whose power is divinely extended rather than self-generated.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 48:17 Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered—the glorious staff!
- 2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
- Psalms 2:8 Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
- Psalms 45:5 Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes; the nations fall beneath your feet.
- Psalms 72:8 May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
- Exodus 8:5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’”
- Psalms 22:28 For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.
- Isaiah 2:3 And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 19:14 Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”