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I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
Psalms 17:6 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB I have called on you, for you will answer me, God. Turn your ear to me. Hear my speech.
  • BSB I call on You, O God, for You will answer me. Incline Your ear to me; hear my words.
  • NKJV I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
  • NASB ¶I have called upon You, for You will answer me, God; Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
  • NLT I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.

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 on God in confidence that he will answer, asking him to listen. It matters because believers can pray with assurance that God hears them.

Overview

David prays boldly, certain that God will answer, and asks him to incline his ear and hear his words. His confidence rests on God's faithful character, not his own worthiness. In Christ, believers have even greater assurance that the Father hears their prayers.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Ps 116:2Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
  • Ps 86:7In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
  • Ps 88:2Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
  • Ps 66:19–20But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
  • Ps 55:16As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
  • Isa 37:17Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.
  • Dan 9:17–19Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
  • Isa 37:20Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.
  • Ps 13:3–4Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 17:6YouTube · 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 17:6 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.