Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Parallel translations
- WEB Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings,
- BSB Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your 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, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
- Ps 91:4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
- Ps 91:1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
- Prov 7:2Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
- Ps 61:4I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
- Zech 2:8For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
- Ruth 2:12The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
- Ps 36:7How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
- Luke 13:34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
- Ps 57:1Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
- Matt 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
- Ps 63:7Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Resources, by level
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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.