Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. 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,
- 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
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 the waste howling wilderness. He surrounded him. He cared for him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.
- Ps 91:4He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
- Ps 91:1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Prov 7:2Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.
- Ps 61:4I will dwell in your tent forever. I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah.
- Zech 2:8For Yahweh of Armies says: ‘For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.
- Ruth 2:12May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
- Ps 36:7How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
- Luke 13:34“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused!
- Ps 57:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave. Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.
- Matt 23:37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!
- Ps 63:7For you have been my help. I will rejoice 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.