The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,
- BSB For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
- NKJV May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
- NASB May the Lord answer you on a day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
- NLT In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
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
The people pray that the Lord will answer the king in his day of trouble and protect him. It is an intercession for the anointed king before battle.
Overview
This royal psalm voices the congregation's prayer for their king as he faces conflict. They invoke 'the God of Jacob,' recalling God's covenant faithfulness to the patriarchs, asking him to answer and defend his anointed. The prayers for God's king ultimately point to the Messiah, the King through whom God secures his people's salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Prov 18:10The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
- Ps 138:7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
- Ps 91:14–15Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
- Ps 46:11The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Ps 46:1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
- Isa 50:10Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
- Matt 26:38–39Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
- Heb 5:7Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
- Ps 83:18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
- Jer 30:7Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
- Ps 60:11Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
- Ps 114:2Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.
- Ps 9:10And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
- Exod 34:5–7And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
- Ps 46:7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Ps 50:5Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
- Ps 18:2The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
- Exod 3:13–15And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
- Gen 32:27–29And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
- Gen 48:15–16And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
- Ps 41:1Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
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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 20:1 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.