Psalms 113:8 · Bible study
Psalms 113:8 Commentary: Set with Princes
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the meaning of Psalm 113:8: God's promise to raise the poor and set them with princes, rooted in Hannah's song and fulfilled in Christ.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God actively raises the poor from complete degradation and grants them a place among the most honored members of his people.
- Key words: “To cause to sit” (Hiphil infinitive of yashav H3427), God does the lifting; “princes” (nedibim H5081), noble, willing, or princely ones.
- Main debate: Whether the exaltation is literal social advancement, spiritual standing in God's family, or both.
- Theological theme: Divine reversal, God's condescension leads to the exaltation of the humble, prefiguring Christ's work and the believer's identity.
- Best use: Comfort for the lowly and marginalized; a call to recognize God's sovereignty over status; a basis for praise.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
to seat them with nobles, with the princes of His people.
WEB World English Bible 2000
that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
KJV King James Version 1769
That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
That he may set him with princes, Even with the princes of his people.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
To cause to sit with princes, With the princes of His people.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
To set [him] among nobles, among the nobles of his people.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the stony hill into fountains of waters.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Para hacerlos sentar con los príncipes, con los príncipes de su pueblo.
Para fazê-lo sentar com os príncipes, com os príncipes de seu povo;
Pour les faire asseoir avec les grands,
daß er ihn setze neben die Fürsten, neben die Fürsten seines Volkes;
Om te doen zitten bij de prinsen, bij de prinsen Zijns volks.
per farlo sedere coi principi, coi principi del suo popolo.
Aby go posadził z książętami, z książętami ludu swego;
превращающего скалу в озеро воды и камень в источник вод.
使他們與 王子 同坐，就是與 本國 的王子同坐。
To give him a place among the rulers, even with the rulers of his people.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 113:8
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse captures the psalm's core: God reverses human fortune. The language comes directly from Hannah's song (1 Samuel 2:8), as the Cambridge Bible and Keil & Delitzsch note. Adam Clarke points out that “princes” translates nedibim, meaning noble or willing ones, properly rendered “aldermen” in Anglo-Saxon. Barnes sees the verse as a statement of God's providential power to lift the poor to high earthly rank, citing examples like Joseph and David. Gill, however, gives it a spiritual reading: saints are set among princes, the people of God, as heirs of the kingdom, made kings and priests (Revelation 5:10). Both readings find support. The Hebrew verb is a Hiphil infinitive (“to cause to sit”), emphasizing God's active, deliberate placement. Wesley adds that being set with “the princes of his people” is a higher honor than any pagan nobility. The shared point: nothing limits God's ability to exalt the humble.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Providential social reversal: Barnes and Wesley: God literally raises individuals like Joseph and David to earthly power.
- Spiritual exaltation: Gill: Saints are made kings and priests, set among the people of God as heirs of the kingdom.
- Messianic typology: Many see Christ's humiliation and exaltation (Philippians 2:8) as the ultimate fulfillment.
What is clear: God himself raises the poor from complete destitution and grants them a place of honor among his people.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the elevation | God raises the poor and needy from a state of degradation. | Some (Barnes) emphasize literal social or economic reversal; others (Gill) see it primarily as spiritual exaltation into the family of God; many hold both together. |
| Identity of 'princes' | The position is among honored leaders of God's people. | Are these earthly nobles in Israel (Wesley, Barnes) or the redeemed people of God who are made kings and priests (Gill, Revelation 5:10)? The text allows both. |
| Connection to Christ | The pattern of humiliation and exaltation is central to the gospel. | Some see direct messianic prophecy; others see a typological pattern that Christ fulfills in his incarnation, death, and resurrection. |
| Application to believers | Christians are called to trust that God exalts the humble. | Is the promise primarily for the community of Israel, the individual believer, or the church as a whole? Most agree it applies to all, but emphases differ. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 113 is part of the “Egyptian Hallel” (Psalms 113, 118) sung during Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Lange's commentary notes that while the Temple stood, this psalm was recited eighteen times a year in Palestine. Calvin and others connect it to the paschal night, after the lamb was eaten. The imagery of dust and ash heap in verse 7 comes directly from Hannah's situation: she was barren and reproached, then given Samuel. The “ash heap” (see Cambridge Bible) refers to the town dump, where outcasts lay begging. Keil & Delitzsch explain that the mezbele (dunghill) was a place of extreme poverty and social death. By quoting Hannah's song, the psalmist generalizes her experience: God lifts the lowly to sit with nobles.
The “princes of his people” likely designates the leaders of Israel, but also the whole people as a kingdom of priests. In the ancient world, such reversals were seen as acts of divine justice. The psalm's liturgical context reinforces hope for the oppressed: as God delivered Israel from Egypt, so he delivers individuals from despair. Matthew Henry adds that the call to praise is pressing because we are naturally slow to see God's hand in these reversals. The historical setting, whether post-exilic or earlier, remains uncertain, but the theme of divine condescension is clear: the high God stoops to raise the lowly.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 113:8. The verse is consistent across ancient manuscripts, with minor spelling differences that do not affect meaning. The Hebrew text is stable, and translations agree closely.
Reception History
Psalm 113:8 has been received as part of the Hallel, sung at Passover and other festivals in Jewish and Christian traditions. The early church read it as a foreshadowing of Christ's exaltation of the humble and the inclusion of Gentiles as “princes of his people.” Reformers like Calvin emphasized God's sovereign providence in reversing human fortunes, connecting it to justification by faith alone. Later commentators applied the verse to social uplift and to the spiritual dignity of all believers. In hymnody, it has inspired songs of God's grace to the lowly, such as “He Raiseth the Poor from the Dust.” The verse continues to comfort those in low estate, reminding them that God's eye is on the marginalized.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God's condescension: He stoops to see the things in heaven and earth (vv. 5, 6), then raises the poor.
- God's reversal: From dust to princes, from ash heap to a seat among nobles. The Hebrew Hiphil verb shows God actively places them.
- God's people: “The princes of his people” points to the church as a royal priesthood (Revelation 5:10). Our identity is not earthly status but being set among God's own.
Five-point outline
- The exaltation of Christ: He humbled himself to the cross, then was raised to the highest place (Philippians 2:8).
- Our inclusion: In Christ we are seated with him in heavenly places (cf. Revelation 5:10).
- Present grace: God lifts the poor spiritually now, giving the spirit of adoption, not bondage.
- Future hope: The final reversal when every knee confesses Christ and believers reign with him.
- Call to praise: Recognizing God's sovereignty over every social barrier compels worship.
Illustration hooks
- An overlooked employee who is promoted because someone saw their potential, God sees what others miss.
- A child adopted into a loving family, given a new name and place, God adopts us into his family and seats us among princes.
- An immigrant who becomes a leader in their new community, God specializes in raising the lowly.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does my low social position mean God has forgotten me?
- What does it mean to be a “prince” in God's kingdom when my life feels ordinary?
- How does this promise affect my view of material success and failure?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 113 calls us to see God's heart for the lowly. This verse promises that God sets the poor among princes. As you discuss, notice how the psalm moves from transcendence to intimate care, and how it quotes Hannah's song. Consider what this means for personal identity and for the church's mission.
Discussion questions
- Read 1 Samuel 2:1, 10. How does Hannah's story illuminate the meaning of Psalm 113:7, 8?
- What do the “dust” and “ash heap” represent in the ancient Near East? Why does God choose to reverse such extreme degradation?
- The psalm says God sets him “with princes, even with the princes of his people.” Who are these princes? How does this differ from worldly nobility?
- Gill reads this as spiritual exaltation; Barnes sees literal social elevation. Which view do you find more compelling, and why?
- How does Christ's own humiliation and exaltation (Philippians 2:8) fulfill the pattern of this psalm?
- In what ways have you seen God “set” someone in a place of honor despite humble beginnings? This could be in your church, community, or personal life.
- If this promise is true, how should it shape the way our church treats people who are poor or overlooked?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 41:41 | Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” |
| Job 36:7 | He doesn’t withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne, he sets them forever, and they are exalted. |
| Psalms 45:16 | Your sons will take the place of your fathers. You shall make them princes in all the earth. |
| Psalms 68:13 | while you sleep among the camp fires, the wings of a dove sheathed with silver, her feathers with shining gold. |
| Philippians 2:8 | And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. |
| Philippians 2:11 | and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
| Revelation of John 5:9 | They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, |
| Revelation of John 5:10 | and made us kings and priests to our God; and we will reign on the earth.” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights that the Hebrew word translated "princes" is more accurately rendered by the Anglo-Saxon term "aldermen," which points to the most respectable and dignified members of the community rather than merely royal or noble figures.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that God’s raising the lowly to power is not merely about earthly advancement. He distinguishes between being exalted among pagan peoples and being set among the princes of God’s own people, arguing that ruling over the redeemed is a far higher honor than any secular position.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin notes that the psalm calls only the faithful to praise God, because they alone have spiritual perception to see His hand in sudden world changes. For him, the psalm directs us to acknowledge that all events are governed by God's will and pleasure, not by chance.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary draws attention to the vivid oriental metaphor behind the passage: the poor and outcast lying on a garbage heap outside the town, a picture of extreme misery. The striking contrast is that God then raises them to sit with princes, a figure for elevation to the highest rank and dignity.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights the double emphasis: God lifts the poor not just to any high rank but specifically to sit with the princes of His own people. The repetition "with the princes, even with the princes" stresses the honor of being counted among the leaders of Israel.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that when God raises a person from a low condition, He sets them among princes both now and in eternity. In the present, believers are brought into the church as fellow citizens with the saints. In the future, they will sit with patriarchs, prophets, and apostles in the kingdom.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch ground the psalm's images in Hebrew terms for lowly estate and the image of a person on a dunghill. They then fix on the phrase for a barren wife, arguing that such a woman has no settled position in her husband's house. God's gift of children roots her fully at home as a joyful mother.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry stresses that the repeated calls to praise in this psalm reveal both how essential praise is and how slow we are to offer it. Those who delight in praising God naturally urge others to join, because the work is vast and the pleasure is too good to keep to oneself.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights a sharp contrast: God reproves even the princes He raised up, like Joseph and David, but holds His own people in higher regard. In God's eyes, faithful believers are far more honorable than the rulers of pagan nations.