Logos Bible Study

Psalm 27:1–5

The NET BibleOther versions

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27:1The Lord delivers and vindicates me!1

I fear no one!2

The Lord protects my life!

I am afraid of no one!3

27:2When evil men attack me4

to devour my flesh,5

when my adversaries and enemies attack me,6

they stumble and fall.7

27:3Even when an army is deployed against me,

I do not fear.8

Even when war is imminent,9

I remain confident.10

27:4I have asked the Lord for one thing—

this is what I desire!

I want to live11 in the Lord’s house12 all the days of my life,

so I can gaze at the splendor13 of the Lord

and contemplate in his temple.

27:5He will surely14 give me shelter15 in the day of danger;16

he will hide me in his home;17

he will place me18 on an inaccessible rocky summit.19

Read in Logos
Psalm 27:4: One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Heb “the Lord [is] my light and my deliverance.” “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).
  2. 2 Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
  3. 3 Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
  4. 4 Heb “draw near to me.”
  5. 5 To devour my flesh. The psalmist compares his enemies to dangerous, hungry predators (see 2 Kgs 9:36; Ezek 39:17).
  6. 6 Heb “my adversaries and my enemies against me.” The verb “draw near” (that is, “attack”) is understood by ellipsis; see the previous line.
  7. 7 The Hebrew verbal forms are perfects. The translation assumes the psalmist is generalizing here, but another option is to take this as a report of past experience, “when evil men attacked me … they stumbled and fell.”
  8. 8 Heb “my heart does not fear.”
  9. 9 Heb “if war rises up against me.”
  10. 10 Heb “in this [i.e., “during this situation”] I am trusting.”
  11. 11 Heb “my living.”
  12. 12 The Lord’s house. This probably refers to the tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).
  13. 13 Or “beauty.”
  14. 14 Or “for he will.” The translation assumes the כִּי (ki) is asseverative here, rather than causal.
  15. 15 Heb “he will hide me in his hut.”
  16. 16 Or “trouble.”
  17. 17 Heb “tent.”
  18. 18 The three imperfect verb forms in v. 5 anticipate a positive response to the prayer offered in vv. 7–12.
  19. 19 Heb “on a rocky summit he lifts me up.” The Lord places the psalmist in an inaccessible place where his enemies cannot reach him. See Ps 18:2.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident.

One thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me

to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes

who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then I will be confident.

One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble

he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent

and set me high upon a rock.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom should I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

whom should I dread?

When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,

my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.

Though an army deploys against me,

my heart will not be afraid;

though a war breaks out against me,

I will still be confident.

I have asked one thing from the Lord;

it is what I desire:

to dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

gazing on the beauty of the Lord

and seeking him in his temple.

For he will conceal me in his shelter

in the day of adversity;

he will hide me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

The Lord is my light and my salvation—

so why should I be afraid?

The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,

so why should I tremble?

When evil people come to devour me,

when my enemies and foes attack me,

they will stumble and fall.

Though a mighty army surrounds me,

my heart will not be afraid.

Even if I am attacked,

I will remain confident.

The one thing I ask of the Lord—

the thing I seek most—

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

delighting in the Lord’s perfections

and meditating in his Temple.

For he will conceal me there when troubles come;

he will hide me in his sanctuary.

He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Yahweh is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

Yahweh is the refuge of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers drew near against me to eat my flesh—

my adversaries and my enemies who drew near to me—

they themselves stumbled and fell.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart will not fear.

Though war arise against me,

even in this I will remain confident.

One thing I have asked from Yahweh;

it I will seek:

that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of Yahweh,

and to consider his temple.

Because he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble.

He will conceal me in the hiding place of his tent.

He will set me high upon a rock.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh,

They stumbled and fell.

Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear:

Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after;

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion:

In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me;

He shall set me up upon a rock.

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