Psalms 96:12

Let the field and all that is in it exult! Then all the trees of the woods shall sing for joy

World English Bible

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Other translations

WEBBE

Let the field and all that is in it exult! Then all the trees of the woods shall sing for joy

BSB

Let the fields exult, and all that is in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy

KJV

Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

ASV

Let the field exult, and all that is therein; Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy

BBE

Let the field be glad, and everything which is in it; yes, let all the trees of the wood be sounding with joy,

Original Hebrew

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יַעֲלֹז ya·'a·loz let it exult H5937 שָׂדַי sa·dai [the] field[s] H7704 וְכָל־ ve·khol and all H3605 אֲשֶׁר־ 'a·sher- that H834 בּוֹ bo [is] in it H9033 אָז 'az then H227 יְרַנְּנוּ ye·ra·ne·nu they will shout for joy H7442 כָּל־ kol- all H3605 עֲצֵי־ 'a·tzei- [the] trees of H6086 יָעַר ya·'ar [the] forest H3293

The early church

"The plains shall be joyful, and all things that are in them" [Psalm 96:12]. All the meek, all the gentle, all the righteous, are the "plains" of God. "Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice." The trees of the woods are the heathen. Why do they rejoice? Because they were cut off from the wild olive, and engraffed into the good olive. [Romans 11:17] "Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice:" because huge cedars and cypresses have been cut down, and undecaying timbers have been bought for the building of the house. They were trees of the woods; but before they were sent to the building: they were trees of the woods, but before they produced the olive.

Augustine of Hippo · d. 430Expositions on the Psalms

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 10–13

We are to hope and pray for that time, when Christ shall reign in righteousness over all nations. He shall rule in the hearts of men, by the power of truth, and the Spirit of righteousness. His coming draws nigh; this King, this Judge standeth before the door, but he is not yet come. The Lord will accept the praises of all who seek to promote the kingdom of Christ. The sea can but roar, and how the trees of the wood can show that they rejoice we know not; but He that searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit, and understands the words, the broken language of the weakest. Christ will come to judge the earth, to execute just vengeance on his enemies, and to fulfil his largest promises to his people. What then are we? Would that day be welcome to us? If this be not our case, let us now begin to prepare to meet our God, by seeking the pardon of our sins, and the renewal of our souls to holiness.

Read Matthew Henry on Psalm 96 →

Spurgeon · Verse 12

Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein. Let the cultivated plains praise the Lord. Peace enables their owners to plough and sow and reap, without fear of the rapine of invaders, and therefore in glad notes they applaud him whose empire is peace. Both men, and creatures that graze the plain, and the crops themselves are represented as swelling the praises of Jehovah, and the figure is both bold and warranted, for the day shall come when every inhabited rood of ground shall yield its song, and every farmstead shall contain a church. Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice. He does not say, let them rejoice, but they shall do so. The faith of the psalmist turns itself from the expression of desire to the fully assured prediction of the event. Groves have in old times stood shuddering at the horrid orgies which have been performed within their shade, the time shall come when they shall sing for joy because of the holy worship, the sounds of which they shall hear. The bush is the stronghold of savage men and robbers, but it shall be sanctified to retirement and devotion. Perhaps the psalmist was thinking of the birds; so Keble must have supposed, for he versifies the passage thus —

"Field exults and meadow fair,

With each bud and blossom there,

In the lonely woodlands now

Chants aloud each rusting bough."

Read Spurgeon on Psalm 96 →

Parallel passages

The same words or events elsewhere.

1 Chronicles 16:31–33

Cross-references

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.