Psalms 121:5

The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
LORD	יְהוָ֥ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
keeper	שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ sho.me.Re.kha	H8104	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
LORD	יְהוָ֥ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
shade	צִ֝לְּךָ֗ tzi.le.kha	H6738	shade · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
right	יְמִינֶֽךָ ye.mi.Ne.kha	H3225	the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
hand	יַ֥ד yad	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when th…
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to…
Psalms 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Isaiah 4:5-6 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a fl…
Psalms 109:31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
Isaiah 32:2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a gr…
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy child…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 121:1–end

This psalm teaches us, I. To stay ourselves upon God as a God of power and a God all-sufficient for us. David did so and found the benefit of it. 1. We must not rely upon creatures, upon men and means, instruments and second causes, nor make flesh our arm: "Shall I lift up my eyes to the hills?" - so some read it. "Does my help come thence? Shall I depend upon the powers of the earth, upon the strength of the hills, upon princes and great men, who, like hills, fill the earth, and hold up their heads towards heaven? No; in vain is salvation hoped for from hills and mountains, Jer 3:23. I never expect help to come from them; my confidence is in God only." We must lift up our eyes above the hil…

Read the whole note in the console

John Gill on Psalms 121:5

The Lord is thy keeper,.... This explains more fully who it is that keeps Israel and particular believers, and confirms the same; not a creature, but the Lord; the Word of the Lord, as the Targum, in Psalm 121:7, Christ, the Word and Wisdom of God; who is the keeper of his people by the designation of his Father, who has put them into his hands to be kept by him; and by their full will and consent, who commit the keeping of their souls to him; for which he is abundantly qualified, being able as the mighty God; faithful to him that has appointed him; tender and compassionate to those under his care, whom he keeps as the apple of his eye; and diligent and constant, for he keeps them night and…

Read the whole note in the console

John Calvin on Psalms 121:3-5

Psalm 121:3-5 3. He will not suffer thy foot to stumble: he who keepeth thee will not slumber. 4. Behold! he who keepeth Israel will not slumber nor sleep. 5. Jehovah is thy keeper; Jehovah is thy defence [63] on thy right hand. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to stumble. Here the Prophet, in order to recall the faithful to the right path, and to defeat the influence of all the allurements which are wont to distract their minds, affirms that whatever advantages worldly men are accustomed to desire or hope for from the world, true believers will find abundantly and at hand in God alone. He not only attributes power to God, but also teaches that He is so affectioned towards us, that he will pr…

The Church Fathers

Let us now come to this verse of the Psalm: "The Lord is thy defence upon the hand of thy right hand" [Psalm 121:5]. By hand he meaneth power. How do we prove this? Because the power of God also is styled the hand of God...Whereof John saith, "He gave unto them power to become the sons of God." [John 1:12] Whence hast thou received this power? "To them," he saith, "that believe in His Name." If then thou believest, this very power is given thee, to be among the sons of God. But to be among the sons of God, is to belong to the right hand. Thy faith therefore is the hand of thy right hand: that is, the power that is given thee, to be among the sons of God, is the hand of thy right hand...
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 121

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Eye · ANTHROPOMORPHIC USES OF — ANTHROPOMORPHIC USES OF
Jews, The · Under God’s special protection — Under God’s special protection
Privileges Of Saints · Having God for their: Keeper — Having God for their: Keeper
Salvation · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 121:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 121:1–end

John Gill on Psalms 121:5

John Calvin on Psalms 121:3-5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 121:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 121:1–end

John Gill on Psalms 121:5

John Calvin on Psalms 121:3-5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 121:5–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 121:4-6

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 121:5