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Psalm 68:31
Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
29Because of your temple at Jerusalem, kings will bring presents to you.
30Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds, the multitude of the bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample under foot the bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war.
31Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
32Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth! Sing praises to the Lord— Selah—
33to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice.
Notice
Egypt’s princes and Ethiopia’s hurried gesture widen the reader’s view of worship, as the psalm looks beyond Israel toward nations stretching their hands to God.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What changes in your picture of worship when Egypt and Ethiopia enter this psalm?
Write on thisHow does Ethiopia’s haste to stretch out her hands compare with your response to God today?
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Where else Scripture says this
11 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 49:23Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of your …Princes appear in the psalm and kings in Isaiah, as both passages look beyond Israel to foreign rulers.
Hosea 2:23I will sow her to me in the earth; and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; and I will tell those who were not my people, ‘You are my people;’ …Both passages describe a response to God: Ethiopia stretches out her hands, while Hosea’s people acknowledge him as their God.
Isaiah 45:14The LORD says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you, and they will be yours. They will …Both name Egypt and Ethiopia in scenes of homage connected with God; Isaiah’s scene includes chains and submission.
Acts 8:27He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, …Ethiopia reaches toward God in the psalm, and an Ethiopian official comes to Jerusalem to worship in Acts.
Zephaniah 3:10From beyond the rivers of Cush, my worshipers, even the daughter of my dispersed people, will bring my offering.Both picture worship coming from African lands, with outstretched hands in the psalm and an offering in Zephaniah.
Psalm 44:20If we have forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god,Both describe hands stretched toward a deity, contrasting Ethiopia’s gesture toward God with the possibility of turning to a strange god.
Isaiah 19:18–25In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of Armies. One will be called “The city of …Both include Egypt in a future response to God: princes come in the psalm, and Egyptian cities swear to the LORD in Isaiah.
Psalm 87:4I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me. Behold, Philistia, Tyre, and also Ethiopia: “This one was born there.”Both name Ethiopia within a vision that reaches beyond Israel and includes other nations in relation to God.
2 Chronicles 6:12He stood before the LORD’s altar in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his handsOutstretched hands mark an approach to God in both passages, whether Ethiopia’s collective gesture or one person standing before the altar.
Job 11:13“If you set your heart aright, stretch out your hands toward him.Both use hands stretched toward God as a bodily expression of turning toward him.
Psalm 72:8–11He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.Both extend their scope beyond one land: this psalm names Egypt and Ethiopia, while Psalm 72 describes dominion reaching earth’s ends.
Where this verse fits
Praise and worship. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
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Encouragement
Egypt’s princes and Ethiopia’s outstretched hands make the scope of this hope concrete: people beyond Israel will turn toward the God whom Israel praises.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).