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Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
Psalms 33:20 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Our soul has waited for Yahweh. He is our help and our shield.
  • BSB Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
  • NKJV Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
  • NASB Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
  • NLT We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield.

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

The people wait for the Lord, confessing him as their help and shield.

Overview

The psalmist voices the community's patient trust, looking to God as their helper and protector. Waiting expresses dependence and hope in him alone. Believers likewise wait on the Lord, whose ultimate help and protection are given in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Isa 40:31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
  • Ps 27:14Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
  • Ps 130:5–6I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
  • Ps 115:9–12O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
  • 1 Chr 5:20And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.
  • Ps 62:5–6My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
  • Ps 144:1–2Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
  • Isa 8:17And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
  • Ps 62:1–2Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 33:20YouTube · 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 33:20 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.