Psalms 20:1

The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
LORD	יְ֭הוָה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
hear	יַֽעַנְךָ֣ ya.'an.Kha	H6030	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
day	בְּי֣וֹם be.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
trouble	צָרָ֑ה tza.Rah	H6869	tightness (i.e. figuratively · noun, common feminine singular absolute
name	שֵׁ֤ם shem	H8034	an appellation · noun, common masculine singular construct
God	אֱלֹהֵ֬י 'e.lo.Hei	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct
Jacob	יַעֲקֹֽב ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
defend	יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗ ye.sa.gev.kha	H7682	to be (causatively · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

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

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Psalms 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy r…
Psalms 91:14-15 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Psalms 46:11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Isaiah 50:10 Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in…
Matthew 26:38-39 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
Hebrews 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save h…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 20:1-5

This prayer for David is entitled a psalm of David; nor was it any absurdity at all for him who was divinely inspired to draw up a directory, or form of prayer, to be used in the congregation for himself and those in authority under him; nay it is very proper for those who desire the prayers of their friends to tell them particularly what they would have to be asked of God for them. Note, Even great and good men, and those that know ever so well how to pray for themselves, must not despise, but earnestly desire, the prayers of others for them, even those that are their inferiors in all respects. Paul often begged of his friends to pray for him. Magistrates and those in power ought to esteem…

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John Gill on Psalms 20:1

The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble,.... All the days of Christ were days of trouble; he was a brother born for adversity; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs; he had his own sorrows, and he bore the griefs of others; he was persecuted by Herod in his infancy; he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness; he was harassed by the Scribes and Pharisees continually; he was grieved at the hardness, impenitence, and unbelief, of that perverse and faithless generation of men, and was sometimes made uneasy by his own disciples: at some particular seasons his soul or spirit is said to be troubled, as at the grave of Lazarus, and when in a view of his own death, and when he was about to acq…

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John Calvin on Psalms 20:1-2

Psalm 20:1-2 1. May Jehovah hear thee in the day of trouble! may the name of the God of Jacob defend thee! 2. May he send thee help from his sanctuary, and sustain thee out of Sion! The inscription shows that the psalm was composed by David; but though he was its author, there is no absurdity in his speaking of himself in the person of others. The office of a prophet having been committed to him, he with great propriety prepared this as a form of prayer for the use of the faithful. In doing this, his object was not so much to commend his own person, by authoritatively issuing a royal ordinance enjoining upon the people the use of this prayer, as to show, in the exercise of his office as a…

The Church Fathers

By saying "in the day of tribulation," he indicates a time of the most severe affliction in which we entreat the Lord with an intense longing.
— Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 20:2

"The Lord hear Thee in the day of trouble" (ver. 1). The Lord hear Thee in the day in which Thou saidst, "Father glorify Thy Son." "The name of the God of Jacob protect Thee." For to Thee belongeth the younger people. Since "the elder shall serve the younger."
— Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 20

This entire psalm voices a prayer as spoken by holy people to the person of Christ. For since for our sakes and on our behalf he received insult when he became man, we are taught to join our prayers with his as he prays and supplicates the Father on our behalf, as one who repels both visible and invisible attacks against us.
— Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 4:16.5

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

Psalms 20:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 20:1-5

John Gill on Psalms 20:1

John Calvin on Psalms 20:1-2

The Church Fathers

Psalms 20:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 20:1-5

John Gill on Psalms 20:1

John Calvin on Psalms 20:1-2

The Church Fathers

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 20:1-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 20:1-2

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 20:1