He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Parallel translations
- WEB He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber.
- BSB He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
- NKJV He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
- NASB He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber.
- NLT He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.
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
God will not let your foot slip; your Keeper never slumbers. God's vigilant care never lapses.
Overview
The psalmist assures the pilgrim that God steadies his steps and watches without ever dozing. Unlike pagan deities thought to sleep, the true God is unfailingly attentive. This unsleeping care is a comfort to believers, who are kept by the One who watches over them in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 3:26For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
- Prov 3:23Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
- 1 Sam 2:9He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
- Ps 91:12They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
- 1 Pet 1:5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Isa 27:3I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
- Ps 127:1Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
- Ps 66:9Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.
- Prov 2:8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
- Ps 41:2The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 121:3 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.