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.
- KJV It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
- BSB It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust 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 146:3–5Don’t put your trust in princes, each a son of man in whom there is no help.
- Isa 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh!
- Isa 30:2–3who set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked my advice; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!
- Ezek 29:7When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke, and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke, and paralyzed all of their thighs.”
- Isa 31:8“The Assyrian will fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of mankind, shall devour him. He will flee from the sword, and his young men will become subject to forced labor.
- Isa 30:15–17For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, “You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in confidence.” You refused,
- Isa 36:6–7Behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt, which if a man leans on it, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who 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.