Psalm 91:3-16
New Catholic Bible
3 He will rescue you from the snare of the fowler[a]
and from virulent pestilence.
4 With his feathers he will shelter you,[b]
and you will take refuge under his wings;
his faithfulness serves as a protective shield.
5 You will not fear the terror by night[c]
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the plague[d] that lays waste at midday.
7 Even though a thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
such evils will not afflict you.
8 Rather, your own eyes will behold[e]
the punishment inflicted on the wicked.
9 You have made the Lord your refuge
and chosen the Most High to be your dwelling.
10 Therefore, no evil will threaten you,
no calamity will come near your dwelling.
11 [f]For he will command his angels[g] about you—
to guard you wherever you go.
12 They will lift you up with their hands,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.[h]
13 You will tread upon the asp and the viper;
you will trample the lion and the dragon.[i]
14 [j]“Because he loves me, I will deliver him,
I will raise high[k] the one who acknowledges my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer,
and I will be with him in time of distress;
I will rescue him and cause him to be honored.[l]
16 I will reward him with a long life
and show him my salvation.”[m]
Footnotes
- Psalm 91:3 Snare of the fowler: a proverbial phrase for danger (see Ps 124:7; Prov 6:5; Hos 9:8).
- Psalm 91:4 With his feathers he will shelter you: traditional biblical image (see note on Ps 17:8).
- Psalm 91:5 Terror by night: resulting from true or false alerts of enemy attacks; attacks by day were announced by flying arrows.
- Psalm 91:6 Pestilence . . . plague: dreaded mortal diseases that frequently grew into epidemics (see Deut 32:24; Hos 13:14; Hab 3:5). In place of the plague that lays waste at midday, other versions have: “devil at noon” or the “noonday devil” (apparently a mythological expression for a contagious disease presumed to be caused by the noonday sun).
- Psalm 91:8 Your own eyes will behold: the righteous will be merely a spectator to the threats mentioned and not be harmed by them.
- Psalm 91:11 These words were cited by Satan when tempting Christ to presumption against divine providence (Mt 4:6; Lk 4:10f).
- Psalm 91:11 His angels: the teaching on guardian angels is common in the Old Testament (see Ps 34:7; Gen 24:7; Ex 23:20).
- Psalm 91:12 Against a stone: along the stony paths of Canaan (see Ps 23:3).
- Psalm 91:13 Asp . . . viper . . . lion . . . dragon: these terms correspond to the references found in verses 5-6 and complete the list of deadly threats against God’s servants (see Am 5:19).
- Psalm 91:14 The psalmist reinforces his message by utilizing the form of a prophetic oracle in which God promises Messianic blessings to all who put their trust in him (see Ps 50:15, 23; Rom 8:30).
- Psalm 91:14 Raise high: i.e., “raise him to a high, safe place.” My name: see note on Ps 5:12.
- Psalm 91:15 The Lord gives assurance that his faithful will be honored for living honestly; they will enjoy themselves as his children in this life (see Pss 73:24; 112:9; 149:5; Isa 43:2; Jer 33:3).
- Psalm 91:16 With a long life . . . my salvation: for the sages of Israel, a long life is the reward of the righteous (see Ex 23:26; Deut 4:40; 1 Sam 2:30; Job 5:26; Prov 3:2, 16; 10:27), crowned by salvation (see 1 Tim 4:8f).
