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In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
Psalms 11:1 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For the Chief Musician. By David. In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain!”
  • KJV In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
  • BSB For the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
  • NASB In the Lord I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain?
  • NLT I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!

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

David takes refuge in Yahweh and rejects counsel to flee like a bird. Faith stands firm in God rather than fleeing in fear.

Overview

Psalm 11 opens with David refusing the fearful advice to escape to the mountains. His confidence rests in God as his refuge, not in flight. This sets the theme of trusting God's sovereign rule amid danger, a faith that holds steady when others counsel panic.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Ps 56:11I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
  • Isa 26:3–4You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.
  • 1 Sam 23:14David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn’t deliver him into his hand.
  • Ps 25:2My God, I have trusted in you. Don’t let me be shamed. Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.
  • Luke 13:31On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, “Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.”
  • Prov 6:5Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
  • 2 Chr 16:8Weren’t the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge army, with chariots and horsemen exceeding many? Yet, because you relied on Yahweh, he delivered them into your hand.
  • Ps 16:1A Poem by David. Preserve me, God, for in you do I take refuge.
  • Ps 7:1A meditation by David, which he sang to Yahweh, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite. Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
  • 2 Chr 14:11Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God. Don’t let man prevail against you.”
  • Ps 9:10Those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.
  • Ps 31:14But I trust in you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my God.”
  • 1 Sam 22:3David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab, and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come out with you, until I know what God will do for me.”
  • 1 Sam 27:1David said in his heart, “I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So shall I escape out of his hand.”
  • Ps 55:6–7I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest.
  • 1 Sam 19:11Saul sent messengers to David’s house, to watch him, and to kill him in the morning. Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you don’t save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
  • 1 Sam 21:10–12David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
  • 1 Sam 20:38Jonathan cried after the boy, “Go fast! Hurry! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 11:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 11:1 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.