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.
Parallel translations
- WEB As for God, his way is perfect. Yahweh’s word is tried. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
- 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.
- 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 32:4He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- Prov 30:5Every 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; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- Ps 84:11–12For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Ps 12:6The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.
- Rev 15:3and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!
- Ps 19:7–10The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Ps 119:140Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it.
- Ps 25:10All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees.
- Ps 18:2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- Dan 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
- Rom 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
- Ps 17:7Show the wonders of Your loving devotion, You who save by Your right hand those who seek refuge from their foes.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 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.