As for God, his way is perfect. Yahweh’s word is tried. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
Parallel translations
- KJV As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
- BSB As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- NKJV As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
- NASB ¶As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is refined; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- NLT God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
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
God's way is perfect and his word proven, and he shields all who take refuge in him. It matters because God's character and word are wholly trustworthy.
Overview
David affirms that God's way is perfect, his word is flawless and tested true, and he is a shield to all who take refuge in him. God's reliability is the foundation of trust. This perfect, proven word and shelter are fully embodied in Christ, the living Word and refuge of his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 32:4The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. A God of faithfulness who does no wrong, just and right is he.
- Prov 30:5“Every word of God is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
- 2 Sam 22:31As for God, his way is perfect. Yahweh’s word is tested. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
- Ps 84:11–12For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
- Ps 12:6Yahweh’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.
- Rev 15:3They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations.
- Ps 19:7–10Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s testimony is sure, making wise the simple.
- Ps 119:140Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.
- Ps 25:10All the paths of Yahweh are loving kindness and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
- Ps 18:2Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
- Dan 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
- Rom 12:2Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
- Ps 17:7Show your marvelous loving kindness, you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:30 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.