A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
Psalm 46
Psalm 46 is the forty-sixth psalm. The 11-verse psalm is a hymn of confidence in God's presence and protection, and it contains one of the most quoted lines in the entire Psalter: "Be still and know that I am God." It is attributed to the sons of Korah.
The psalm opens with the central statement of confidence: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surging."
The middle of the psalm shifts to a quieter image. There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
A refrain follows: "The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
The psalmist then calls the reader to consider what God has done. He invites them to come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has wrought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
The chapter closes with the famous command and the repeated refrain: "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth. The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
Verse 1. For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
Verse 2. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas,
Verse 3. though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah
Verse 4. There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
Verse 5. God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.
Verse 6. Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when He lifts His voice.
Verse 7. The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Verse 8. Come, see the works of the LORD, who brings devastation upon the earth.
Verse 9. He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
Verse 10. “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”
Verse 11. The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
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