He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.
Parallel translations
- WEB to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine.
- KJV To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
- BSB to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
- NKJV To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.
- NASB To rescue their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine.
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
God watches over the faithful to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
Overview
The Lord's caring oversight has a saving purpose: to rescue his people from death and sustain them in scarcity. He preserves life where human strength fails. This points beyond physical preservation to the deliverance from death secured in Christ's resurrection.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 37:19They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
- Prov 10:3Yahweh will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.
- Job 5:19–22He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.
- Matt 6:31–33“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’
- John 10:28I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
- Isa 33:16he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.
- Ps 91:10no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
- Ps 37:3Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
- Ps 91:3–7For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence.
- Acts 12:11When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”
- John 10:30I and the Father are one.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 33:19 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.