Psalms 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Study Note
Study Note
The command 'be still and know that I am God' occurs at the climax of a psalm that celebrates divine sovereignty over cosmic chaos and the nations. The Hebrew 'raphah' (be still/cease striving) carries connotations of relaxing one's grip or desisting from warfare, suggesting a call to abandon self-reliant striving. The verse is frequently quoted as an invitation to silent contemplation, but its original context is martial — God commands the nations to stop fighting and acknowledge divine rule. The psalm was reportedly Luther's inspiration for 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,' and its imagery of God as refuge has grounded generations of liturgical use in times of catastrophe.
Other Translations
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Desist, and know that I <FI>am<Fi> God, I am exalted among nations, I am exalted in the earth.
Be at peace in the knowledge that I am God: I will be lifted up among the nations, I will be honoured through all the earth.
Cross References
Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he …
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from …
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came …
Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and …
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all …
Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we …
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord …