God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
- BSB For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
- NKJV God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
- NASB God is our refuge and strength, A very ready help in trouble.
- NLT God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
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 is our refuge and strength, a help always ready in trouble. It matters because it anchors confidence in God amid any crisis.
Overview
This famous opening of Psalm 46 declares God to be both shelter and power for His people, present and available precisely when trouble comes. It is the theme that inspired Luther's hymn 'A Mighty Fortress.' For believers, this refuge is secured in Christ, in whom God draws near as our ever-present help.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Ps 145:18The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
- Ps 9:9The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
- Prov 18:10The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
- Ps 62:7–8In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
- Ps 91:1–9He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
- Ps 142:5I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
- Ps 46:11The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Deut 4:7For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
- Prov 14:26In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
- Heb 6:18That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
- 2 Sam 22:17–20He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
- Gen 22:14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
- Ps 46:7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Ps 14:6Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
- Luke 13:34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
- Ps 66:1Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
- Ps 84:1How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
- Ps 85:1Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
- Ps 48:1Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
- Ps 87:1His foundation is in the holy mountains.
- 1 Chr 15:20And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 46:1 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.