Psalms 115 · Verse 2

Psalms 115:2

Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
Psalms 115:2, King James Version

Psalms 115:2 in other translations

BSBWhy should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
WEBWhy should the nations say, “Where is their God, now?”
ASVWherefore should the nations say, Where is now their God?
YLTWhy do the nations say, ‘Where, pray, is their God.
DARBYWherefore should the nations say, Where then is their God?
BBEWhy may the nations say, Where is now their God?
WebsterWhy should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

What does Psalms 115:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 115:1-3

Psa 115:1-18. The Psalmist prays that God would vindicate His glory, which is contrasted with the vanity of idols, while the folly of their worshippers is contrasted with the trust of God's people, who are encouraged to its exercise and to unite in the praise which it occasions. 1-3. The vindication of God's mercy and faithfulness (Psa 25:10; 36:6) is the "glory" of His "name," which is desired to be illustrated in…

Read the full comment on Psalms 115:1-3 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Wherefore should the heathen say - This appears to refer to a time in which the Israelites had suffered some sad reverses, so as to be brought very low, and to be marked by the heathen.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 115:1-8

by trusting in him and praising him. (9-18) Verses 1-8 Let no opinion of our own merits have any place in our prayers or in our praises. All the good we do, is done by the power of his grace; and all the good we have, is the gift of his mere mercy, and he must have all the praise. Are we in pursuit of any mercy, and wrestling with God for it, we must take encouragement in prayer from God only. Lord, do so for us…

Read the full comment on Psalms 115:1-8 →

Psalms 115:2 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.

לָ֭מָּהLa.mah<to> why?H4100
יֹאמְר֣וּyo.me.Ruwill they sayH559
הַגּוֹיִ֑םha.go.Yimthe nationsH1471
אַיֵּה\־'ai.yeh-where?H346
נָ֝֗אNa'pleaseH4994
אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם\׃'e.lo.hei.Hem[is] God theirH430

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

Cross references for Psalms 115:2

  • Psalms 79:10

    Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.

  • Psalms 42:3

    My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

  • Psalms 42:10

    As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

  • Exodus 32:12

    Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

  • Deuteronomy 32:26-27

    I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men: Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this.

  • Numbers 14:15-16

    Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

  • Joel 2:17

    Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

  • 2 Kings 19:10-19

    Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah? …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
42:3,10; 79:10; Ex 32:12; Nu 14:15,16; De 32:26,27; 2Ki 19:10-19
Joe 2:17

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

Context

  • Psalms 115:1

    Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

  • Psalms 115:2

    Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

  • Psalms 115:3

    But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Read all of Psalms 115

Psalms 115:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Por qué dirán las gentes: ¿Dónde está ahora su Dios?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Pourquoi les nations diraient-elles: Où donc est leur Dieu?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Warum sollen die Nationen sagen: Wo ist denn ihr Gott?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ego dixi in excessu meo: Omnis homo mendax.