Bible Strands
Psalms 110:6
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses a divine figure positioned at the Lord’s right hand, declaring that this figure will execute judgment during a day of wrath. This announcement follows the immediate context of God’s presence and precedes a statement about drinking from a roadside brook.
The words — The Hebrew verb יָדִין (ya.Din) means “he judges,” while מָלֵא (ma.Le’) literally means “it is full” and modifies גְוִיּוֹת (ge.vi.Yot), “corpses.” This construction specifies that the accumulation of the dead will be complete rather than partial.
The thread — The motif of divine judgment among the nations appears in Psalms 68:21, which describes God crushing the heads of His enemies. It also aligns with the judicial theme in Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3, where God arbitrates between many peoples and nations.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that political and military powers will face a definitive, inescapable verdict. A reader must accept that earthly authority holds no immunity from this coming judicial reckoning.
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
He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
Cross-references
- Psalms 68:21 Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways.
- Isaiah 2:4 Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor train anymore for war.
- Micah 4:3 Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor will they train anymore for war.
- John 5:22 Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son,
- Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.
- Isaiah 42:4 He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”
- Revelation 14:20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
- Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
- 1 Samuel 2:10 Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
- Isaiah 11:3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear,