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They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright.
Psalms 20:8 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They are bowed down and fallen, but we rise up, and stand upright.
  • KJV They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
  • BSB They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
  • NKJV They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.
  • NLT Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.

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

Those who trust in chariots collapse, but those who trust in God rise and stand firm. Misplaced confidence falls; faith in the Lord stands.

Overview

David draws the outcome of verse 7: the self-reliant 'are bowed down and fallen,' while the God-trusting 'rise up, and stand upright.' The contrast vividly demonstrates where true stability lies. It assures the people of God that faith in him will not be put to shame, a confidence fulfilled in the risen Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Ps 125:1A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in Yahweh are as Mount Zion, which can’t be moved, but remains forever.
  • Mic 7:8Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
  • Jer 17:7–8“Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose confidence is in Yahweh.
  • Ps 34:21–22Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
  • Ps 146:5–9Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Yahweh, his God:
  • Judg 5:31“So let all your enemies perish, Yahweh, but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises in its strength.” Then the land had rest forty years.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 20:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 20:8 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.