Incline Your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, the stronghold of my deliverance.
Parallel translations
- WEB Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be to me a strong rock, a house of defense to save me.
- KJV Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.
- NKJV Bow down Your ear to me, Deliver me speedily; Be my rock of refuge, A fortress of defense to save me.
- NASB Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be a rock of strength for me, A stronghold to save me.
- NLT Turn your ear to listen to me; rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will be safe.
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
David asks God to listen, deliver him quickly, and be his strong rock and fortress. It pleads urgently for God's protection.
Overview
The imagery of rock and fortress conveys safety and stability in danger. David seeks not only rescue but a secure refuge in God Himself. This trust in God as fortress points to Christ, the sure foundation and shelter for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Ps 71:2–3In Your justice, rescue and deliver me; incline Your ear and save me.
- Ps 86:1A prayer of David. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
- Ps 102:2Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call.
- Ps 130:2O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.
- 1 Jn 4:15–16If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
- Deut 32:31For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies concede.
- Ps 69:17Hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me quickly!
- Ps 91:9Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—my refuge, the Most High—
- Isa 33:16he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
- Ps 90:1A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.
- Ps 18:1–2For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.
- 1 Jn 4:12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.
- Ps 94:22But the LORD has been my stronghold, and my God is my rock of refuge.
- Ps 62:7My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God.
- Job 7:21Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”
- Ps 143:7Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
- 2 Sam 22:3My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation. My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.
- Luke 18:8I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
- Prov 22:17Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge—
- Ps 40:17But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
- John 6:56Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
- Ps 79:1A Psalm of Asaph. The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
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 31:2 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.