Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.
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.
- BSB Incline Your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, the stronghold of my deliverance.
- 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 71:2–3Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
- Ps 86:1Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
- Ps 102:2Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
- Ps 130:2Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
- 1 Jn 4:15–16Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
- Deut 32:31For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
- Ps 69:17And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
- Ps 91:9Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
- Isa 33:16He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
- Ps 90:1Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
- Ps 18:1–2I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
- 1 Jn 4:12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
- Ps 94:22But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
- Ps 62:7In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
- Job 7:21And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
- Ps 143:7Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
- 2 Sam 22:3The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
- Luke 18:8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
- Prov 22:17Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
- Ps 40:17But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
- John 6:56He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
- Ps 79:1O GOD, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
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.