The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.
Parallel translations
- WEB The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant.
- KJV The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
- BSB The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
- ESV The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
- NASB The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.
- NLT The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 LORD's intimate friendship is with those who fear him, and he shows them his covenant. God draws near in close fellowship to the reverent.
Overview
This rich verse promises that God shares his secret counsel and covenant intimacy with those who fear him. The relationship is not distant but marked by trusted friendship and revealed understanding. Such closeness finds its fullest expression in Christ, who calls his people friends and makes known to them the will of the Father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.
- John 14:21–23One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
- John 7:17If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
- Eph 1:9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
- 1 Cor 2:14Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- Eph 1:18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
- Rev 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.
- Jer 31:31–34“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
- Deut 4:13He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments. He wrote them on two stone tablets.
- John 17:6I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.
- Col 3:3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
- Matt 13:11–12He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
- John 14:17the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
- Gen 18:17–19Yahweh said, “Will I hide from Abraham what I do,
- Gen 17:13He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
- Prov 3:32For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh, but his friendship is with the upright.
- Rom 11:26–27and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
- Jer 13:18Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headdresses have come down, even the crown of your glory.
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 25:14 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.