Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face.
- KJV Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
- NKJV Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.
- NASB ¶Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before me.
- NLT Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow.
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 asks God to lead him in righteousness and make His way straight before him. Surrounded by enemies, he seeks God's guidance above all.
Overview
Aware of foes watching to make him stumble, David prays not first for their defeat but for God to lead him in a righteous, clear path. Right living under God's direction is his chief concern. This reflects the believer's prayer to walk uprightly, following Christ, who is Himself the way (John 14:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 27:11Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path, because of my oppressors.
- Ps 25:4–5Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.
- Prov 3:5–6Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- Ps 86:11Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.
- Ps 119:10With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
- Ps 143:8–10Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
- Prov 4:25Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
- Ps 119:64The earth is filled with Your loving devotion, O LORD; teach me Your statutes.
- Ps 31:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; save me by Your righteousness.
- Ps 59:10My God of loving devotion will come to meet me; God will let me stare down my foes.
- Matt 3:3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
- Ps 54:5He will reward my enemies with evil. In Your faithfulness, destroy them.
- Heb 12:13Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
- 2 Sam 12:14Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”
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 5:8 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.