I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord. You are my refuge; don’t let them kill me.
Parallel translations
- WEB For my eyes are on you, Yahweh, the Lord. In you, I take refuge. Don’t leave my soul destitute.
- KJV But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
- BSB But my eyes are fixed on You, O GOD the Lord. In You I seek refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.
- NKJV But my eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord; In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute.
- NASB ¶For my eyes are toward You, God, the Lord; In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
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 fixes his eyes on Yahweh, takes refuge in Him, and asks not to be left destitute. It expresses steadfast trust amid danger.
Overview
Despite surrounding threats, David turns his gaze to the Lord as his refuge and source of life. This Godward focus is the antidote to fear. Keeping our eyes on the Lord finds its fullest form in fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 123:1–2A Song of Ascents. To you I do lift up my eyes, you who sit in the heavens.
- 2 Chr 20:12Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
- Isa 41:17The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Ps 102:17He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.
- Ps 25:15–17My eyes are ever on Yahweh, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
- Ps 2:12Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
- John 14:18I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
- Ps 143:3–4For the enemy pursues my soul. He has struck my life down to the ground. He has made me live in dark places, as those who have been long dead.
- Ps 11:1For the Chief Musician. By David. In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain!”
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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 141:8 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.