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I hate those who regard lying vanities, but I trust in Yahweh.
Psalms 31:6 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.
  • BSB I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.
  • NKJV I have hated those who regard useless idols; But I trust in the Lord.
  • NASB ¶I hate those who devote themselves to worthless idols, But I trust in the Lord.
  • NLT I hate those who worship worthless idols. I trust in the Lord.

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 hates those who cling to worthless idols, but he trusts in the Lord. It contrasts false worship with true faith.

Overview

Devotion to 'lying vanities' is empty, and David rejects it in favor of trusting the living God. His hatred is for idolatry, not merely persons. The verse calls believers to undivided trust in the Lord rather than the false securities the world offers.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Jonah 2:8Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
  • Ps 26:5I hate the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
  • Ps 24:4He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.
  • Jer 10:15They are vanity, a work of delusion. In the time of their visitation they will perish.
  • 1 Cor 10:20But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have fellowship with demons.
  • Jer 10:8But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just wood.
  • 1 Cor 8:4Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
  • John 2:8He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it.
  • 1 Chr 16:28–29Ascribe to Yahweh, you relatives of the peoples, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!
  • Ps 96:7–9Ascribe to Yahweh, you families of nations, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.
  • Rom 1:21Because, knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.
  • Ps 139:2You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.

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 31:6YouTube · 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 31:6 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.