Psalms 104 · Verse 19

Psalms 104:19

He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

Psalms 104:19, King James Version

Psalms 104:19 in other translations

BSB	He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
WEB	He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
ASV	He appointed the moon for seasons: The sun knoweth his going down.
YLT	He made the moon for seasons, The sun hath known his place of entrance.
DARBY	He made the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth its going down.
BBE	He made the moon for a sign of the divisions of the year; teaching the sun the time of its going down.
Webster	He appointeth the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

What does Psalms 104:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 104:16-19

16-19. God's care of even wild animals and uncultivated parts of the earth.

Read the full comment on Psalms 104:16-19 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 19 He appointed the moon for seasons - The heathens thought that the sun and moon were gods, and worshipped them as such. The psalmist shows, 1. That they are creatures dependent on God for their being and continuance; and, 2. That they were made for the use of man. See what has been said on these luminaries in the notes on Gen 1:14-16 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 104:19-30

We are to praise and magnify God for the constant succession of day and night. And see how those are like to the wild beasts, who wait for the twilight, and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Does God listen to the language of mere nature, even in ravenous creatures, and shall he not much more interpret favourably the language of grace in his own people, though weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered? There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, which man must apply to every morning, and which he must continue in till evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which no man can work. The psalmist wonders at the works of God. The works of art, the more closely they are looked upon, the more rough they appear; the works of nature appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they all answer the end they were designed to serve. Every spring is an emblem of the resurrection, when a new world rises, as it were, out of the ruins of the old one. But man alone lives beyond death. When the Lord takes away his breath, his soul enters on another state, and his body will be raised, either to glory or to misery. May the Lord send forth his Spirit, and new-create our souls to holiness.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Psalms 104:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

עָשָׂ֣ה'a.Sahhe madeH6213

יָ֭רֵחַYa.re.ach[the] moonH3394

לְמוֹעֲדִ֑יםle.mo.'a.Dimfor appointed timesH4150

שֶׁ֝֗מֶשׁShe.mesh[the] sunH8121

יָדַ֥עya.Da'it knowsH3045

מְבוֹאֽוֹ\׃me.vo.'Osetting itsH3996

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 104:19

Genesis 1:14-18
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, …
Jeremiah 31:35
Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name:
Psalms 136:7-9
To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalms 8:3
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Job 38:12
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
Psalms 19:6
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
Job 31:26-28
If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.
Deuteronomy 4:19
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

8:3; 136:7-9; Ge 1:14-18; De 4:19; Job 31:26-28; 38:12; Jer 31:35

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Psalms 104:18
The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
Psalms 104:19
He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
Psalms 104:20
Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

Read all of Psalms 104

Psalms 104:19 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Hizo la luna para los tiempos: el sol conoce su ocaso.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Il a fait la lune pour les saisons; le soleil connaît son coucher.
German Elberfelder 1871	Er hat den Mond gemacht für die bestimmten Zeiten; die Sonne weiß ihren Untergang.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	donec veniret verbum ejus. Eloquium Domini inflammavit eum.