Psalm 71 19

Psalm 71:19 kjv

Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!

Psalm 71:19 nkjv

Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?

Psalm 71:19 niv

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God?

Psalm 71:19 esv

Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?

Psalm 71:19 nlt

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.
You have done such wonderful things.
Who can compare with you, O God?

Psalm 71 verses

Psalm 71 19 Meaning

Psalm 71:19 declares the boundless nature of God's righteousness, emphasizing its infinite extent that reaches to the highest heavens. It exalts God as the doer of great and mighty deeds, culminating in a rhetorical question that powerfully affirms His incomparable and unique majesty, challenging anyone to find another like Him in power, character, and action. The verse serves as a profound statement of absolute trust and worship of the Sovereign God.

Psalm 71 19 Context

Psalm 71 is a fervent prayer from an older individual who has trusted God from a young age and is now facing distress and ridicule from enemies. It is a deeply personal psalm of lament and petition, yet it repeatedly pivots to declarations of God's steadfast faithfulness and awesome power. Verse 19 appears amidst a section (vv. 14-24) where the psalmist's lament turns increasingly to praise and confident testimony. Having recounted his life-long reliance on God and vowing to speak of God's righteousness and salvation, the psalmist launches into a majestic statement affirming the limitless scope of God's righteousness, the grandeur of His deeds, and His absolute uniqueness. It anchors his hope and deliverance in the transcendent character of God Himself, reinforcing his resolve to continually praise Him. Historically, such psalms provided comfort and liturgical expression for Israelites facing hardship, reinforcing their monotheistic belief in Yahweh's supreme authority against surrounding polytheistic influences.

Psalm 71 19 Word analysis

• Your righteousness (צִדְקָתְךָ - tsidqatka): From the root צֶדֶק (tsedeq), meaning righteousness, justice, equity. It encompasses both God's moral perfection and His active, faithful deliverance. Here, it is God's character revealed in His saving actions on behalf of the psalmist, stretching to infinity. Its presence to "high heavens" signifies its ultimate, divine, and universal nature, uncontainable by earthly measures.
• O God (אֱלֹהִים - Elohim): A common Hebrew name for God, emphasizing His power, majesty, and transcendence as Creator. The repetition in the verse (once with "righteousness" and again with "who is like You?") provides emphasis on the subject of all this praise and action.
• reaches (עַד - 'ad): A preposition meaning "unto," "as far as," "even to." It denotes ultimate destination or boundary, or in this context, the vast, limitless extent of something.
• the high heavens (מָרוֹם - marom): Meaning "height," "high place," or "heaven itself." This term elevates the concept of God's righteousness beyond any earthly realm, pointing to its celestial and divine origin and immeasurable scope. It conveys the idea of God's dwelling place and authority, implying His righteousness is as vast and high as His abode.
• You who have done (אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ - asher asita): Asher is a relative pronoun ("who," "that"), and asita is the second person singular perfect of asah (to do, make, accomplish). It directly attributes all actions to God, emphasizing His active role. The perfect tense indicates completed actions, confirming His established character as the doer of great things.
• great things (גְדֹלוֹת - gedolot): Feminine plural of gadol, meaning "great," "large," "mighty." It refers to powerful, awe-inspiring acts, wonders, or magnificent works. These are not merely significant, but grand in scale and effect, demonstrating God's sovereign power.
• who is like You? (מִי כָמוֹךָ - mi kamocha): Mi (who?) is an interrogative pronoun, and kamocha (like You) combines ke (like) with mocha (You, singular suffix). This is a profound rhetorical question common in Psalms and prophetic literature. It expects no answer but rather serves as a powerful declaration of God's absolute uniqueness, unparalleled power, and unrivaled character. It asserts God's singularity as the supreme being, distinct from all creation and any rival deity.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• Your righteousness... reaches to the high heavens: This phrase links God's character (righteousness) directly to the vastness of the cosmos, making His moral perfection not just immeasurable but transcendently divine. It signifies that His saving acts and justice extend to the utmost boundaries of existence.
• You who have done great things: This connects God's active power and intervention to His identity. He is not just righteous in character, but dynamically righteous in His powerful actions throughout history and creation. This speaks to both His providential care and His redemptive work.
• O God, who is like You?: This final declaration summarizes the psalmist's understanding of God, based on His boundless righteousness and magnificent deeds. It affirms a complete lack of any rival or equivalent to Yahweh, marking Him as uniquely sovereign and utterly incomparable, especially in the context of pagan polytheism.

Psalm 71 19 Bonus section

The progressive nature of praise in Psalm 71 leads up to this declaration. The psalmist, initially burdened and seeking rescue (Psa 71:1-13), moves to a renewed commitment to constant praise (Psa 71:14), and then explicitly commits to proclaiming God's righteousness and salvation all day long (Psa 71:15). Verse 19 solidifies the reasons for this praise: God's attributes and His actions. This movement demonstrates a spiritual maturity where trust deepens into comprehensive worship. The term "righteousness" (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) often has a dual meaning of both moral rectitude and salvific action, particularly in a covenant context. God's righteousness is what compels Him to uphold His promises and deliver His faithful, and His vast deeds are the proof. This psalm also foreshadows the New Testament understanding of God's righteousness fully manifested in Christ's atoning work (Rom 3:21-26), the ultimate "great thing" He has done for humanity, and indeed the one great act that truly "reaches to the high heavens" to reconcile God and man.

Psalm 71 19 Commentary

Psalm 71:19 encapsulates the psalmist's profound worship and confidence in God, moving from personal plea to universal praise. It builds upon the recurring theme of God's faithfulness from his youth, culminating in a triumphant affirmation of God's essential being. The righteousness of God, tsidqatka, is not merely an abstract concept; it is demonstrated in His saving actions for His people, particularly for the psalmist in his distress. Its reach "to the high heavens" signifies not only its immeasurable scale but also its divine purity and transcendence—it originates from God's celestial dwelling and covers all things. This comprehensive righteousness undergirds the "great things" He has done, highlighting that all of God's powerful deeds are consistently just and true to His character. From creation to deliverance, His works are gedolot, demonstrating a magnificent scale that elicits awe. The rhetorical question, "O God, who is like You?" is the climax, serving as an exclusionary statement against all other powers or deities. It is a powerful declaration of monotheism and the unparalleled sovereignty of Yahweh. The psalmist, through decades of lived experience and trusting God in various trials, arrived at this unshakable conviction. The verse provides comfort and strength for believers, knowing that the God who saves them is supremely just, immensely powerful, and utterly unique, always faithful to His own perfect nature. It encourages a life lived in declaration of these truths.