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But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.
Psalms 55:16 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB As for me, I will call on God. Yahweh will save me.
  • KJV As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
  • NKJV As for me, I will call upon God, And the Lord shall save me.
  • NASB ¶As for me, I shall call upon God, And the Lord will save me.
  • NLT But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me.

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 resolves to call on God, confident that Yahweh will save him. It marks the turn from lament to trust.

Overview

Against the betrayal and turmoil, David sets his determined resolve to call on God for salvation. This pivot from complaint to confidence is the heart of the psalm. It teaches that the believer's refuge in betrayal and fear is steadfast prayer to the God who saves.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Ps 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
  • Luke 6:11–12But the scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
  • Ps 91:15When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
  • Ps 73:28But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.
  • Ps 109:4In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.

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 55:16YouTube · 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 55:16 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.