So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” Interlude
Parallel translations
- WEB Many there are who say of my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah.
- KJV Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
- BSB Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah
- NKJV Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah
- NASB Many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
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
Many taunt David, saying God will not save him. The sharpest assault is the temptation to doubt God's help.
Overview
David's enemies attack not only his body but his faith, claiming that even God has abandoned him. This is the deepest trial: to be told one's case is hopeless before God. 'Selah,' a likely musical or reflective pause, invites the worshiper to weigh this lie before the psalm answers it with confident trust in the next verse.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 71:11saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”
- Ps 42:3My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?”
- Ps 42:10As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?”
- Ps 22:7All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
- Ps 4:4Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.
- Matt 27:42–43“He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.
- Ps 4:2You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah.
- Ps 3:8Salvation belongs to Yahweh. Your blessing be on your people. Selah.
- Hab 3:9You uncovered your bow. You called for your sworn arrows. Selah. You split the earth with rivers.
- Hab 3:3God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth.
- 2 Sam 16:7–8Shimei said when he cursed, “Be gone, be gone, you man of blood, and base fellow!
- Hab 3:13You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the land of wickedness. You stripped them head to foot. Selah.
- Ps 3:4I cry to Yahweh with my voice, and he answers me out of his holy hill. Selah.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 3:2 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.