Psalms 23:1
in Psalms 23The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want.
KJV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
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This verse in Psalms 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHow often have you heard Psalm 23 and not understood it! See how it is applicable to the heavenly sacraments: "The Lord feeds me, and I shall want nothing; he has set me in a place of pasture; he has brought me on the water of refreshment; he has converted my soul. He has led me on the paths of justice for his own name's sake.
This site's exposition
The LORD is my shepherd
on Psalms 23:1-2
Israel called God the Shepherd of Israel at Psalm 80:1; here one man says the LORD is my shepherd. Green pastures and quiet waters are a working shepherd's daily provision, food and water calm enough for a sheep to drink. The line closes on a settled thing, I shall not want.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The Lord is my shepherd,.... This is to be understood not of Jehovah the Father, and of his feeding the people of Israel in the wilderness, as the Targum paraphrases it, though the character of a shepherd is sometimes given to him, Psa 77:20; but of Jehovah the Son, to whom it is most frequently ascribed, Gen 49:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
"The Lord is my shepherd." What condescension is this, that the infinite Lord assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd! It should be the subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be compared to anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people. David had himself been a keeper of sheep, and understood both the needs of the sheep and the many cares of a shepherd.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Christ's relation to His people is often represented by the figure of a shepherd (Joh 10:14; 5:4), and therefore the opinion that He is the Lord here so described, and in Ge 48:15; Isa 40:11, is not without some good reason.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
A song of David The Rabbis said: Wherever it says: “A song of David,” he would play [his musical instrument] and afterwards the Shechinah would rest on him. It is a song to bring the holy spirit upon David.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
in green pasture In grassy pastures. Since he commences to compare his sustenance to the pasture of an animal by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd,” “green pastures” is appropriate for the expression, “the Lord is my shepherd.” David recited this psalm in the forest of Hereth (I Sam.:5).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
4 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| רֹ֝עִ֗י | roi | [is] shepherd my | H7462 → | 177 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶחְסָֽר׃ | ʾechsar | I lack | H2637 → | 23 times |
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
רֹ֝עִ֗י[is] shepherd my
roiH7462 →177 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶחְסָֽר׃I lack
ʾechsarH2637 →23 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Philippians 4:19And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 9:8–11
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- Psalms 23:1–5
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- 1 Timothy 6:17
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…
- 2 Corinthians 9:8–11
Through
John 10:11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
it leads to
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 10:14–15
I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
- John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
- Revelation 7:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, On the Sacraments, Book 5, Chapter 3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.