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Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
Psalms 94:16 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?
  • BSB Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity?
  • NKJV Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
  • NASB Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Who will take his stand for me against those who do injustice?
  • NLT Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers?

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

The psalmist asks who will rise up for him against the wicked. He realizes no human champion is sufficient against evildoers.

Overview

Facing oppression, the psalmist looks for a defender and finds none among men. This honest sense of helplessness drives him to depend wholly on God (v.17). Ultimately God Himself is the believer's defender, supremely in Christ who rose to defeat every enemy on our behalf (Romans 8:31-34).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Judg 5:23Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
  • Num 25:6–13And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
  • Ps 59:2Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.
  • 3 Jn 1:8We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.
  • John 7:50–51Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
  • Isa 59:16And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
  • Neh 5:7Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.
  • Jer 5:1Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
  • 2 Kgs 9:32And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
  • Ezek 22:30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
  • Jer 26:16–19Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.
  • Isa 63:5And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
  • Exod 32:26–29Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
  • Num 10:35And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.
  • 1 Kgs 18:39–40And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
  • 2 Kgs 10:15And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.
  • Ps 17:13Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
  • Matt 12:30He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 94:16YouTube · 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 94:16 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.