Bible Strands
Psalms 72:8
May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist petitions God for the king’s reign, placing this prayer between requests for righteous prosperity and the submission of nomadic enemies. The speaker addresses the community's hope for idealized kingly rule within a royal covenant context.
The words — The Hebrew יֵרְדּ (ye.red, H7287) literally means "may he rule." The phrase מִיָּם עַד־יָם (mi.Yam 'ad-Yam) translates directly to "from sea to sea," establishing the geographic scope before any theological expansion.
The thread — The text describes a ruler's domain stretching from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates and beyond. This boundary language runs in Exodus 23:31, which defines Israel's borders, and 1 Kings 4:21, which records Solomon's territorial reach.
Why it lands — The text states that the king's authority extends to the earth's extremities. It requires the reader to acknowledge that political power is legitimate only when it operates within divinely established limits.
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 have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Cross-references
- Exodus 23:31 And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
- Zechariah 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
- 1 Kings 4:21 And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
- Psalms 2:8 Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
- Psalms 80:11 It sent out its branches to the Sea, and its shoots toward the River.
- Psalms 89:25 I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand upon the rivers.
- Psalms 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Psalms 89:36 his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun,
- Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”