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He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.
Psalms 25:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He will guide the humble in justice. He will teach the humble his way.
  • KJV The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
  • ESV He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
  • NKJV The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.
  • NASB He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.
  • NLT He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way.

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

God guides and teaches the humble in justice and his way. The lowly and teachable are the ones God leads.

Overview

This verse declares that God directs the humble in what is right and instructs them in his way. Humility, a teachable and dependent spirit, is the condition for receiving God's guidance. The proud resist instruction, but the lowly are led by God, a pattern fulfilled in Christ, who is gentle and lowly and welcomes the humble to learn from him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • Prov 3:5–6Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
  • Ps 23:3He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
  • Matt 5:5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
  • John 14:6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
  • 1 Pet 3:15But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,
  • Gal 5:23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
  • Ezek 36:27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.
  • Ps 149:4For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the afflicted with salvation.
  • Zeph 2:3Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
  • Ps 143:10Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
  • Ps 147:6The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.
  • Ps 119:66Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments.
  • Ezek 11:19–20And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,
  • Jas 1:21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
  • Isa 42:1–3“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
  • 1 Pet 3:4but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
  • Ps 22:26The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
  • Ps 32:8–9I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
  • Ps 27:11Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path, because of my oppressors.
  • Ps 73:24You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.
  • Ps 76:9when God rose up to judge, to save all the lowly of the earth. Selah
  • Prov 8:20I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,
  • Heb 10:20by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body,
  • Ps 119:35Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for there I find delight.
  • Isa 11:4but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
  • Isa 61:1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
  • Acts 13:10and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
  • Acts 9:2and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 25:9YouTube · 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 25:9 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.