Psalms 121:7
in Psalms 121The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah will keep thee from all evil; He will keep thy soul.
KJV
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
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This verse in Psalms 121
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThee Lord shall preserve them from all evil,.... The Word of the Lord, as the Targum.
This site's exposition
guard you from all evil
on Psalms 121:7-8
Verse 7 sets the guard over all evil and over the soul. Verse 8 sets it over coming and going, the Hebrew way of naming a whole life's business, as at Deuteronomy 28:6. The last words are now and forevermore.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"For the Lord shall preserve you from all evil" [Psalm 121:7]. From offenses in the sun, from offenses in the moon, from all evil shall He preserve you, who is your defence upon the hand of your right hand, who will not sleep nor slumber. And for what reason? Because we are amid temptations: "The Lord shall preserve you from all evil. The Lord preserve your soul:" even your very soul.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil, or keep thee from all evil. It is a great pity that our admirable translation did not keep to the word keep all through the psalm, for all along it is one. God not only keeps his own in all evil times but from all evil influences and operations, yea, from evils themselves. This is a far reaching word of covering: it includes everything and excludes nothing: the wings of Jehovah amply guard Iris own from evils great and small, temporary and eternal.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil, or keep thee from all evil. It is a great pity that our admirable translation did not keep to the word keep all through the psalm, for all along it is one. God not only keeps his own in all evil times but from all evil influences and operations, yea, from evils themselves. This is a far reaching word of covering: it includes everything and excludes nothing: the wings of Jehovah amply guard Iris own from evils great and small, temporary and eternal. There is a most delightful double personality in tiffs verse: Jehovah keeps the believer, not by agents, but by himself; and the person protected is definitely pointed out by the word thee, —it is not our estate or name which is shielded, but the proper personal man. To make this even more intensely real and personal another sentence is added, "The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:" he shall preserve thy soul, —or Jehovah will keep thy soul. Soul keeping is the soul of keeping. If the soul be kept all is kept. The preservation of the greater includes that of the less so far as it is essential to the main design: the kernel shall be preserved, and in order thereto the shell shall be preserved also. God is the sole keeper of the soul. Our soul is kept from the dominion of sin, the infection of error, the crush of despondency, the puffing up of pride; kept from the world, the flesh, and the devil; kept for holier and greater things; kept in the love of God; kept unto the eternal kingdom and glory. What can harm a soul that is kept of the Lord?
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil - Spiritual and corporeal, natural and moral. He shall preserve thy soul - Take care of thy life, and take care of thy soul.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil - This is an advance of the thought. The psalmist had in the previous verses specified some particular evils from which he says God would keep those who put their trust in him. He now makes the remark general, and says that God would not only preserve from these particular evils, but would keep those who trusted in him from all evil: he would be their Protector in all the perils of life. He shall preserve thy soul - Thy life. See Psa 41:2; Psa 97:10.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְֽהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ | yishmarekha | he will protect you | H8104 → | 468 times |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| רָ֑ע | ra' | harm | H7451 → | 662 times |
| יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר | yishmor | he will protect | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | nafshekha | life your | H5315 → | 754 times |
יְֽהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥he will protect you
yishmarekhaH8104 →468 times
מִכָּל־from all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
רָ֑עharm
ra'H7451 →662 times
יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗רhe will protect
yishmorH8104 →468 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃life your
nafshekhaH5315 →754 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
2 Timothy 4:18And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
- Jude 1:24–25
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- John 10:28–30
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
Through
Psalms 145:20The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:6
but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
- John 10:27–29
My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
- Romans 8:28–30
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Exodus 20:6
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 121; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).