I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
Parallel translations
- WEB I know that Yahweh will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the needy.
- BSB I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.
- NKJV I know that the Lord will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor.
- NASB ¶I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor.
- NLT But I know the Lord will help those they persecute; he will give justice to the poor.
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 knows that Yahweh upholds the cause of the afflicted and secures justice for the needy. It expresses confidence in God as defender of the oppressed.
Overview
Turning from lament to assurance, David declares his settled knowledge that God champions the poor and afflicted. This conviction sustains faith when human help fails. God's heart for the needy is fully revealed in Christ, who came to bring good news to the poor and justice to the oppressed (Luke 4:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 9:4For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
- 1 Kgs 8:49Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
- 1 Kgs 8:45Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
- Prov 23:10–11Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
- Jer 22:16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.
- Ps 35:10All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
- Matt 11:5The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
- Ps 102:17He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
- Isa 11:4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
- Prov 22:22Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
- Ps 22:24For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
- Ps 72:4He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
- Ps 72:12–14For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
- Ps 10:17–18LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
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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 140:12 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
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