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For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Psalms 5:12 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For you will bless the righteous. Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.
  • BSB For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous; You surround them with the shield of Your favor.
  • NKJV For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
  • NASB For You bless the righteous person, Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.
  • NLT For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love.

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 blesses the righteous and surrounds them with His favor like a protecting shield. The Lord's favor encircles and guards His people.

Overview

The psalm closes with assurance that God blesses the righteous and wraps them about with favor as a shield. This favor is comprehensive protection, a benediction over the whole life of the faithful. Such favor rests on believers in Christ, in whom they are accepted and surrounded by the grace of God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Ps 84:11For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
  • Ps 32:10Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
  • Ps 115:13He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
  • Ps 1:1–3Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
  • Ps 112:1Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
  • Ps 32:7Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
  • Ps 29:11The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
  • Ps 3:3But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
  • Ps 3:8Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 5:12YouTube · 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 5:12 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.