The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- KJV The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
- BSB The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- NKJV The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
- NLT The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?
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
With the Lord on his side, the psalmist will not fear what man can do. It matters because God's presence removes the fear of human threats.
Overview
Confidence in God's nearness banishes the dread of human opposition. The verse is quoted in Hebrews 13:6 to assure believers of God's faithful help. Because the Lord stands with his people, ultimately in Christ who is Immanuel, they may face hostility without fear.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Heb 13:6So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
- Rom 8:31What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Ps 56:4In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
- Ps 56:11I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Mic 7:8–10Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
- Ps 56:9Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call. I know this, that God is for me.
- Ps 27:1–3By David. Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
- Jer 20:11But Yahweh is with me as an awesome mighty one. Therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail. They shall be utterly disappointed, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which shall never be forgotten.
- Ps 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
- Isa 51:12“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass?
- Ps 46:11Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Ps 146:5Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Yahweh, his God:
- Ps 46:1For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Resources, by level
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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 118:6 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.