I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.
Parallel translations
- WEB I hate those who regard lying vanities, but I trust in Yahweh.
- KJV I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.
- 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 cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
- Ps 26:5I hate the mob of evildoers, and refuse to sit with the wicked.
- Ps 24:4He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.
- Jer 10:15They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.
- 1 Cor 10:20No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
- Jer 10:8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
- 1 Cor 8:4So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
- John 2:8“Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,
- 1 Chr 16:28–29Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
- Ps 96:7–9Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
- Rom 1:21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- Ps 139:2You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.
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 31:6 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.