Psalms 91:1-16
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abidea under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:b the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 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.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With longc life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
XCI. God Protects His Own.
Psalms 91:1 f. Read perhaps Blessed is he that dwelleth, that abideth, that saith of Yahweh.
Psalms 91:3. noisome pestilence: read, from the pit of destruction. The pestilence is mentioned with greater fullness (Psalms 91:6).
Psalms 91:5. The arrow may be a metaphor for the sun-stroke.
Psalms 91:9. Read, For as for thee, Yahweh is thy refuge. We thus avoid an intolerable confusion of persons.
Psalms 91:13 a. Read, Thou shalt tread on the creeping thing and adder.
The poet holds the view common among the Jews in the second century B.C. The righteous are rewarded with material prosperity, especially long life. The prosperity of the bad is precarious.