📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 16:32
What does 1 Chronicles 16:32 mean?
"Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field exult, and all that is in it!"
— 1 Chronicles 16:32 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship Yahweh in holy array.
Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established that it can’t be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice! Let them say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns!”
Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field exult, and all that is in it!
Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth.
Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
Say, “Save us, God of our salvation! Gather us together and deliver us from the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.”
Explanation
This verse comes from a psalm of thanksgiving that David composed and delivered into the hands of Asaph and his fellow Levites when the Ark of the Covenant was finally brought into Jerusalem and placed in the tent David had prepared for it. First Chronicles 16 records this as a great national moment of worship, and the song David gives closely parallels portions of Psalms 96, 105, and 106. The verse in question calls on creation itself to celebrate: the sea is summoned to roar, along with everything that fills it, and the fields are called to exult, along with everything growing and living in them.
In plain language, the verse is poetic personification. The sea's "roar" refers to the crashing of waves, imagined here not as a threatening or chaotic sound but as a shout of praise. The field's "exulting" pictures the land, its crops, and its creatures bursting forth in joy. Neither the sea nor the field can literally choose to worship, but the psalmist uses vivid imagery to declare that all of creation, even inanimate and non-human parts of it, is swept up in giving glory to God.
Theologically, this reflects a consistent biblical theme: creation itself bears witness to the greatness of its Creator. The immediate context of 1 Chronicles 16 celebrates God's covenant faithfulness, his kingship, and his acts of deliverance for Israel. The response called for is not confined to the human worshipers gathered around the Ark — the whole created order is drawn into the celebration. This magnifies the scope of who God is: he is not merely Israel's
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.