Psalms 72:8
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Study Note
Study Note
The royal psalm's vision of dominion 'from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth' draws on ancient Near Eastern royal ideology of universal kingship while applying it to the Davidic monarch within an Israelite covenantal framework. The phrase 'sea to sea' may originally have denoted the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf (the known world's boundaries) or may use cosmic symbolism where 'the sea' functions as a boundary marker of the created order. Zechariah 9:10 echoes this verse in its vision of the humble king coming on a donkey whose dominion reaches to the ends of the earth — a passage Matthew 21:4–5 applies to Jesus' triumphal entry, making Psalm 72:8 implicitly christological in the Synoptic tradition. Missionary traditions have frequently cited the verse as a mandate for global proclamation.
Other Translations
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River unto the ends of the earth.
And he ruleth from sea unto sea, And from the river unto the ends of earth.
Let his kingdom be from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
Cross References
And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the …
For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all …
And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of …
And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be …
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become …
His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.
For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations.
All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations …