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Psalms 5:8

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT
¶Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before me.
Psalms 5:8 · New American Standard Bible
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.
  • BSB Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me.
  • NKJV Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.
  • 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, Yahweh. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.
  • Ps 25:4–5Show me your ways, Yahweh. Teach me your paths.
  • Prov 3:5–6Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.
  • Ps 86:11Teach me your way, Yahweh. I will walk in your truth. Make my heart undivided to fear your name.
  • Ps 119:10With my whole heart, I have sought you. Don’t let me wander from your commandments.
  • Ps 143:8–10Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
  • Prov 4:25Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you.
  • Ps 119:64The earth is full of your loving kindness, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes. TET
  • Ps 31:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. Deliver me in your righteousness.
  • Ps 59:10My God will go before me with his loving kindness. God will let me look at my enemies in triumph.
  • Matt 3:3For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.”
  • Ps 54:5He will repay the evil to my enemies. Destroy them in your truth.
  • Heb 12:13and make straight paths for your feet, so that which is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
  • 2 Sam 12:14However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh’s enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you will surely die.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)
FLATTERY

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 5:8YouTube · 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 5:8 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.

Leadנָחָהme, O LORDיְהֹוָהin thy righteousnessצְדָקָהbecause of mine enemiesשָׁרַרmake thy wayדֶּרֶךְstraightיָשַׁרbefore my faceפָּנִים
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