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O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle.
Psalms 140:7 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh, the Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
  • KJV O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
  • NKJV O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.
  • NASB “God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head on the day of battle.
  • NLT O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me, you protected me on the day of battle.

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 calls Yahweh the strength of his salvation, who shielded his head in battle. It expresses confident trust in God as his proven protector.

Overview

Recalling past deliverance, David affirms that God has covered and defended him in the heat of conflict. This memory of grace fuels present trust. The Lord who is 'the strength of my salvation' points forward to the salvation accomplished fully in Christ, the deliverer in our every battle (Psalm 27:1).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • Ps 62:7My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God.
  • Ps 18:1–2For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.
  • Ps 89:26He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’
  • Deut 33:27–29The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’
  • Ps 62:2He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.
  • Ps 144:10to Him who gives victory to kings, who frees His servant David from the deadly sword.
  • Ps 59:17To You, O my strength, I sing praises, for You, O God, are my fortress, my God of loving devotion.
  • Ps 27:1Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
  • Ps 28:7–8The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.
  • 1 Sam 17:45–51But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
  • Isa 12:2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
  • Ps 18:35You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.
  • Ps 95:1Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!
  • 2 Sam 8:6Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to David and brought him tribute. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
  • 2 Sam 8:14He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
  • 1 Sam 17:36–37Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 140:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 140:7 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.