Psalm 17

¹ Hear, LORD, my righteous plea. Give ear to my prayer that doesn’t go out of deceitful lips.

² Let my sentence come out of your presence. Let your eyes look on equity.

³ You have proved my heart. You have visited me in the night. You have tried me, and found nothing. I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey.

⁴ As for the deeds of men, by the word of your lips, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.

⁵ My steps have held fast to your paths. My feet have not slipped.

⁶ I have called on you, for you will answer me, God. Turn your ear to me. Hear my speech.

⁷ Show your marvelous loving kindness, you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.

⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings,

⁹ from the wicked who oppress me, my deadly enemies, who surround me.

¹⁰ They close up their callous hearts. With their mouth they speak proudly.

¹¹ They have now surrounded us in our steps. They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.

¹² He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

¹³ Arise, LORD, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

¹⁴ from men by your hand, LORD, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.

¹⁵ As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.

Around Psalm 17

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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