Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

91 He (A)who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide (B)under the shadow of the Almighty.
(C)I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

Surely (D)He shall deliver you from the snare of the [a]fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
(E)He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and [b]buckler.
(F)You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only (G)with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is (H)my refuge,
Even the Most High, (I)your dwelling place,
10 (J)No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 (K)For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall [c]bear you up,
(L)Lest you [d]dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will [e]set him on high, because he has (M)known My name.
15 He shall (N)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be (O)with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With [f]long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 91:3 One who catches birds in a trap or snare
  2. Psalm 91:4 A small shield
  3. Psalm 91:12 lift
  4. Psalm 91:12 strike
  5. Psalm 91:14 exalt him
  6. Psalm 91:16 Lit. length of days

God’s Protection in Times of Crisis

91 One who lives in the secret place[a] of the Most High
will lodge in the shadow of Shaddai.[b]
I will say to Yahweh, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
For he will deliver[c] you from the snare of the fowler,
from the plague of destruction.
With his feathers he will cover you,
and under his wings you can take refuge.
His faithfulness will be a shield and a buckler.[d]
You need not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
or the plague that spreads in the darkness,
or the destruction that devastates at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes,
and see the punishment of the wicked.
For you, O Yahweh, are my refuge.
You have made the Most High your dwelling place.[e]
10 No harm will befall you,
and no plague will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you,
to watch over you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on lion and viper;
you will trample young lion and serpent.
14 Because he loves me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will protect[f] him because he knows my name.
15 He will call upon me and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue and honor him.
16 With long life[g] I will satisfy him,
and show him my salvation.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 91:1 Or “shelter”
  2. Psalm 91:1 Often translated “the Almighty,” this is perhaps better understood as “God of the Mountain”
  3. Psalm 91:3 Hebrew “he, he will deliver” is perhaps emphatic, “He will certainly deliver”
  4. Psalm 91:4 That is, a small, round shield, or perhaps a surrounding bulwark
  5. Psalm 91:9 This is the most straightforward translation of the Hebrew, though the “you” of each line would refer to a different person. A more unusual rendering would be “Because Yahweh, my refuge, even the Most High, you have made your dwelling place …”
  6. Psalm 91:14 The sense is that of making something inaccessibly high, like a fortress
  7. Psalm 91:16 Literally “a length of days”