In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?
Parallel translations
- WEB In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
- KJV In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
- BSB In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- NASB In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
- NLT I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to 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
Trusting God and praising his word, David refuses to fear mere mortal flesh. It declares confident faith that disarms human threats.
Overview
David grounds his courage in God and in God's promises ('his word'), concluding that frail flesh can do nothing ultimately to harm him. The rhetorical question dismisses the power of human enemies before the almighty God. It anticipates the New Testament assurance that if God is for us, none can prevail against us (Romans 8:31).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Heb 13:6So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
- Ps 118:6Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Rom 8:31–39What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Ps 27:1By David. Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
- Isa 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Luke 12:4–5“I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
- Ps 56:10–11In God, I will praise his word. In Yahweh, I will praise his word.
- Ps 46:1–2For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
- Ps 119:89–90Yahweh, your word is settled in heaven forever.
- Isa 31:3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When Yahweh stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.
- Ps 19:7–8Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s testimony is sure, making wise the simple.
- Ps 12:6Yahweh’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.
- Ps 119:160All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever. SIN AND SHIN
- Ps 138:2I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your Name for your loving kindness and for your truth; for you have exalted your Name and your Word above all.
- John 10:35If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken),
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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 56:4 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.