Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
Parallel translations
- WEB Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings,
- KJV Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
- NKJV Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
- NASB Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- NLT Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
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 asks God to guard him as the apple of his eye and hide him under the shadow of his wings. It matters because it expresses God's tender, protective care for his own.
Overview
Using vivid images of the cherished pupil of the eye and the sheltering wings of a bird, David pleads for God's intimate protection. These pictures convey how precious God's people are to him and how securely he shelters them. Jesus drew on the same wing imagery in his longing to gather and protect his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Deut 32:10He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.
- Ps 91:4He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Ps 91:1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Prov 7:2Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
- Ps 61:4Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
- Zech 2:8For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
- Ruth 2:12May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
- Ps 36:7How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
- Luke 13:34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
- Ps 57:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
- Matt 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!
- Ps 63:7For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
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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 17:8 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.