It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Parallel translations
- WEB It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes.
- BSB It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
- NKJV It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes.
- NASB It is better to take refuge in the Lord Than to trust in noblemen.
- NLT It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
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
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. It matters because even the most powerful people cannot be trusted as God can.
Overview
Intensifying the previous verse, the psalm warns against relying even on rulers, who are mortal and limited. Earthly power is no substitute for God's protection. This redirects hope from human authorities to the Lord, and ultimately to Christ the King, whose reign never fails.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 146:3–5Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
- Isa 31:1Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
- Isa 30:2–3That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
- Ezek 29:7When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
- Isa 31:8Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
- Isa 30:15–17For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
- Isa 36:6–7Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 118:9 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.