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 91
Psalm 91 is the ninety-first psalm of the Bible and one of the most often quoted psalms of protection in scripture. The 16-verse psalm has no named author. It promises God's protection to anyone who takes refuge in him, and it has been used in personal devotion, in funerals, and in times of crisis throughout Jewish and Christian history.
The psalm opens with the famous line: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." The opening verses are spoken in the third person. The one who takes refuge in God will be delivered from the snare of the fowler and from deadly disease. God will cover him with his feathers, and under his wings he will find refuge.
The middle of the psalm shifts to direct address. The psalm tells the believer not to be afraid of the terror of night, the arrow that flies by day, the plague that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noon. Thousands may fall on either side, but the danger will not approach the one who has made the Lord his refuge.
The psalm promises that God will command his angels to guard the believer in all his ways. They will lift him in their hands, so that he will not strike his foot against a stone. He will tread on the lion and the cobra; he will trample the great lion and the serpent.
The psalm closes with God himself speaking. Because the believer loves God and knows his name, God will rescue him, answer him in trouble, deliver and honor him, and satisfy him with long life and salvation.
Verse 1. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Verse 2. I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Verse 3. Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.
Verse 4. He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
Verse 5. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
Verse 6. nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the calamity that destroys at noon.
Verse 7. Though a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, no harm will come near you.
Verse 8. You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked.
Verse 9. Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—my refuge, the Most High—
Verse 10. no evil will befall you, no plague will approach your tent.
Verse 11. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Verse 12. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Verse 13. You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.
Verse 14. “Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.
Verse 15. When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
Verse 16. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”
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