For our shield belongs to Yahweh, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
Parallel Translations
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For our shield belongs to Yahweh, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
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For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
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(89-19) For of the LORD is our shield; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Psalms 89:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 47:9 The princes of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God. He is greatly exalted!
- Psalms 71:22 I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 33:22 For Yahweh is our judge. Yahweh is our lawgiver. Yahweh is our king. He will save us.
- Psalms 84:11 For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
- Psalms 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
- Isaiah 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They are estranged and backward.
- Isaiah 12:6 Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
- Isaiah 43:3 For I am Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
- Genesis 15:1 After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
- Deuteronomy 33:27-29 The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’ Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine. Yes, his heavens drop down dew. You are happy, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency? Your enemies will submit themselves to you. You will tread on their high places.”
- Psalms 44:4 You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob!
- Psalms 62:1-2 My soul rests in God alone. My salvation is from him. He alone is my rock, my salvation, and my fortress. I will never be greatly shaken.
- Isaiah 29:19 The humble also will increase their joy in Yahweh, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 43:14 Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing.
- Psalms 62:6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I will not be shaken.
- Isaiah 30:11 Get out of the way. Turn away from the path. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 18. For to Jehovah is our buckler. As the…
18. For to Jehovah is our buckler. As the chief protection of the people was in the person of their king, it is here expressly shown, that the maintenance of the welfare of the faithful by his instrumentality is the gift of God. But it is to be noticed, that the prophet’s mind was not so fixed upon this temporal and transitory kingdom as to neglect, at the same time, to consider the end of it, as we shall presently see. He knew that it was only on account of Christ that God made his favor to flow upon the head of the Church, and from thence upon the whole body. And, in the first place, while he calls the king metaphorically a buckler, — a figurative expression frequently employed in Scripture, — he confesses that when the people are defended by his hand and working, it is nevertheless done by the providence of God, and is thus to be traced to a higher source than human agency. The same thing is again repeated in the second clause, in which it is affirmed, that the king was given by God to govern the people; and that, therefore, the defense which comes from the king is a blessing of God. Moreover, we must remember that what is said of this kingdom, which was a shadow of something greater, properly applies to the person of Christ, whom the Father has given to us to be the guardian of our welfare, that we may be maintained and defended by his power.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain In that that our King hath power to defend…
In that that our King hath power to defend us, it is the gift of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 89:18 For the LORD [is] our defence; and…
Psa 89:18 For the LORD [is] our defence; and the Holy One of Israel [is] our king.
Ver. 18. For the Lord is our defence] Heb. our shield; the body cannot be wounded, but through the shield.
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And the Holy One of Israel is our king] How, then, can any one cry aloud? Mic 4:9.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This verse gives a reason of the psalmist’s confidence…
This verse gives a reason of the psalmist’s confidence that their horn would be exalted.
The Holy One of Israel is our King; having therefore so potent a Friend, we have no reason to despair of our restitution to our former felicity. Or, as the words may well be, and are by divers, rendered, Of or from the Lord is or was our shield, (to wit, our king, as it is explained in the next branch of the verse, compared with Psa 47:9) and of or from the Holy One of Israel, i.e. the Lord, who is oft so called, is or was our king. He gave us our king and royal family at first, and therefore he can easily restore it when he sees it fit.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy One,....…
Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy One,.... Samuel the prophet, that holy man of God, to whom the Lord spoke in vision, or by a spirit of prophecy, concerning David, the choice and exaltation of him to the kingdom, and his unction for it, Sa1 16:1. The Vulgate Latin version reads it "to thy Holy Ones": and so the Targum, with which agree the Septuagint and Arabic versions, which render it "thy sons"; and the Syriac version "his righteous ones", and so takes in Nathan also, to whom the Lord spake in a vision, by night, concerning the settlement and perpetuity of the kingdom in David's family, Sa2 7:4, &c. Aben Ezra interprets it of the singers, Heman, Ethan, and others; and Jarchi of Gad and Nathan: but the whole is rather to be understood of David's son, the Messiah; and it may be rendered "concerning thy Holy One" (i) as he is called, Psa 16:10, concerning whom in vision, that is, in prophecy, see Isa 1:1. The Lord said, by the mouth of his holy prophets, from the beginning of the world, the following things:
and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; this "mighty" One is the Messiah, the mighty God, the mighty Man, the mighty Mediator and Redeemer; who was mighty to save to the uttermost, and was every way fit for and equal to the work of a Redeemer; for which reason the Lord "laid help" upon him, not for himself; for this is not to be understood of help promised or given him as man and Mediator: this is after spoken of, Psa 89:21, but for others; and so the Targum adds, "for my people": laying it on him is no other than ordering or enjoining him, to which he agreed, to help his people out of that miserable condition they were fallen into, through Adam's transgression, and their own sins, out of which they could not help themselves: the work assigned to Christ, and devolved on him in council and covenant, was to help them out of this estate by price and power; and to help them on in their way to heaven, through all difficulties, trials, and temptations; and to help them to heaven itself, and introduce them there: and being thus laid upon him, according to his Father's will and purpose, and with his own consent, it was found in him, and exercised by him, Hos 13:9.
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I have exalted one chosen out of the people; the same as before, the Messiah, God's elect, his chosen One, Isa 42:1 "chosen" to be the head of the church, to be the Mediator between God and man, and to be the Saviour and Redeemer of lost sinners; to be the foundation and corner stone in the spiritual building, and to be the Judge of quick and dead: and he was "chosen out of the people"; out of the vast number of the individuals of human nature God determined to create, there was a certain number which he selected for himself, for his own glory, and to be eternally happy with him; and out of these he singled one "individuum" of human nature, to be united to the eternal Word, the second Person in the Trinity; and which may be truly said to be the "chiefest among", or, as the Septuagint version has it, "chosen out of ten thousand", Sol 5:10, this the Lord "exalted" to the grace of union to the Son of God, whereby it became higher than angels and men, and to have a more excellent name than either of them, it bearing the name of him to whom it is united, Heb 1:4, and he has exalted him to the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, for which he is
anointed above his fellows; and he has also, having done his work, highly exalted him at his right hand; angels, principalities, and powers, being subject to him.
(i) "de pio tuo", Cocceius; "de sancto tuo", Gejerus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For the Lord is our defense - Margin, “Our…
For the Lord is our defense - Margin, “Our shield is of the Lord.” The original word rendered “defense,” is shield. Compare Psa 5:12, note; Psa 33:20, note; Psa 59:11, note. The meaning is, that protection was to be found in God alone. The true construction of this verse is, “For to Yahweh (belongs) our shield, and to the Holy One of Israel our king.” That is, All that they had, and all that they relied on as a defense, belonged to God, or was of God; in other words, their very protectors were themselves protected by Yahweh. They had no other defense; nothing else on which they could depend.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 18. For to Jehovah belongeth our shield;
18. For to Jehovah belongeth our shield;
And our King to the Holy One of Israel.
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Shield, as in Psa_47:9, is a metaphor for the king as the protector of his people. The king of Israel belongs to Jehovah, because he is appointed by Him to be His representative, as his title Jehovah’s anointed testifies; he derives his authority from Him, and therefore can claim His protection. For Holy One of Israel see note on Psa_71:22.
The A.V. is grammatically unjustifiable; and the R.V. marg. rendering of the second line, Even to the Holy One of Israel our King, though grammatically possible, and supported by some Ancient Versions, is less suitable to the context.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (18) For the Lord.—Or, rather—
(18) For the Lord.—Or, rather—
“For of Jehovah is our shield,
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And of Israel’s Holy One our king,”
“shield” and “king” being in synonymous parallelism. Jehovah is the source of the theocratic power.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For the Lord is our Defence; and the Holy…
For the Lord is our Defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our King; literally, for to Jehovah belongs our shield, and to the Holy One of Israel belongs our king. The meaning seems to be that he who is Israel"s king and shieldi.e. , the Davidical monarch at the time being under the constant protection of the Almighty, all must necessarily go well with the people at last.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 18. For the Lord is our defence. Whoever…
Ver. 18. For the Lord is our defence. Whoever else may defend us, he is our ultimate Defender and Shield.
And the Holy one of Israel is our king. He who protects should govern, our defender should be acknowledged as our king. Kings are called the shields of nations, and the God of Israel is both our Ruler and our Defence. Another sense may be that Israel's defender and king was of the Lord, belonging to him and sent by him; even the protectors of the land being themselves protected by the Lord. The title "the Holy One of Israel" is peculiarly delightful to the renewed heart. God is one, we worship none beside. He is holiness itself, the only being who can be called "the Holy One", and in his perfection of character we see the most excellent reason for our faith. He who is holy cannot break his promises, or act unjustly concerning his oath and covenant. Moreover, he is the Holy One of Israel, being specially the God of his own elect, ours by peculiar ties, ours for ever and ever. Who among the saints will not rejoice in the God of election? Are they not indeed a people greatly blessed who can call this God their God for ever and ever?
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Ver. 18.
1. Jehovahhis power, self existence, and majestyour defence.
2. The Holy One of Israelhis character, covenant character, and unityour government.
Psalms 89:19*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.