‘May the LORD bless you and keep you;
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘Yahweh bless you, and keep you.
- KJV The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
- NKJV “The Lord bless you and keep you;
- NASB ¶The Lord bless you, and keep you;
- NLT ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The first line of the blessing asks the Lord to bless and protect His people.
Overview
This opening petition seeks God's active favor ('bless') and His watchful protection ('keep'). It grounds Israel's well-being not in their own strength but in the Lord's gracious care. Every true blessing flows from God, who guards His people now and forever in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- 1 Th 5:23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Ps 121:4–7Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
- Phil 4:7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Jude 1:24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Isa 42:6“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,
- Ps 91:11For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
- Deut 28:3–6You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
- John 17:11I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
- Ps 134:3May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
- 1 Sam 2:9He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
- Ruth 2:4Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.
- Phil 4:23The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
- Ps 17:8Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- Eph 6:24Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
- 1 Pet 1:5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Ps 28:9Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; shepherd them and carry them forever.
- 1 Cor 14:16Otherwise, if you speak a blessing in spirit, how can someone who is uninstructed say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
- Isa 27:3I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it continually. I guard it night and day so no one can disturb it;
- Rev 1:4–5John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 6:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.