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When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
Psalms 56:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.
  • KJV What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
  • NKJV Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
  • NASB When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.
  • NLT But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.

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

When afraid, David chooses to trust in God. It offers a simple, profound pattern for handling fear.

Overview

David does not deny his fear but responds to it by deliberately placing his trust in God. Faith and fear coexist, yet faith governs his response. This brief verse has comforted countless believers, teaching that the answer to fear is active trust in the Lord.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Ps 34:4I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
  • 1 Sam 30:6And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
  • 2 Cor 7:5–6For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every direction—conflicts on the outside, fears within.
  • Ps 55:4–5My heart murmurs within me, and the terrors of death assail me.
  • Ps 11:1For the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
  • 1 Sam 21:12Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
  • 2 Chr 20:3Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
  • 2 Cor 1:8–10We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
  • 1 Sam 21:10That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.

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 56:3YouTube · 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 56:3 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.