Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.

PSALMS 75:5KJV
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Psalms 75:5 (KJV)

What does Psalms 75:5 mean?

Psalms 75:5 warns people not to exalt themselves or act with stubborn pride, using the image of lifting up a horn and speaking with a stiff neck. The verse calls for humility and warns against arrogance or defiance toward God.

In Psalms 75, the psalmist (likely Asaph) speaks to those who are proud or boastful, reminding them that God is the true judge who brings down the arrogant and lifts up the humble. The "horn" is a symbol of strength or power, and "stiff neck" describes a stubborn, unyielding attitude. The setting is a call to recognize God's authority rather than relying on one's own strength or pride.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 75:5

  • "horn" (קֶרֶן, qeren): This word often represents power, authority, or pride in Hebrew imagery. The verse uses it as a picture of someone trying to show off their strength or status.
  • "stiff" (עָתָק, ataq) and "neck" (עֹרֶף, oref): Together, these words describe someone who is stubborn or resistant, like an animal that refuses to be guided. It adds the sense of someone who refuses to listen or change their ways.

Why Psalms 75:5 matters

  • This verse clarifies that pride and stubbornness are not just personal flaws but attitudes that challenge God's rightful place as judge and ruler.
  • The verse connects to the larger theme of the psalm, which is about God's control over who is lifted up or brought low, reminding the reader not to trust in their own power.
  • The imagery of the "horn" and "stiff neck" helps the reader picture what pride looks like in action, making the warning more vivid and memorable.

Where else these words appear

“stiff” Hebrew H6277 · used in 4 verses

  • 1 Samuel 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
  • Psalms 31:18 Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
  • Psalms 94:4 How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?

“neck” Hebrew H6677 · used in 39 verses

  • Genesis 27:16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
  • Job 15:26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
  • Jeremiah 27:11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

“high” Hebrew H4791 · used in 52 verses

  • Judges 5:18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.
  • Psalms 93:4 The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
  • Isaiah 37:24 By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.

“horn” Hebrew H7161 · used in 69 verses

  • Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
  • 1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
  • Jeremiah 48:25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD.