Psalms 17:9

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

Key Reflection

These verses metaphorically emphasize God's protective and intimate care for his people, likening them to the delicate and precious pupil of an eye and sheltered by a bird’s wings, ensuring both safety and guidance. Through these vivid images, David expresses profound trust in God's unwavering protection and affection.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

From the wicked that oppress me -Margin, “That waste me.” The margin expresses the sense of the Hebrew. The idea is that of being wasted, desolated, destroyed, as a city or country is by the ravages of war. The psalmist compares himself in his troubles with such a city or country. The “effect” of the persecutions which he had endured had been like cities and lands thus laid waste by fire and sword. From my deadly enemies -Margin, “My enemies against the soul.” The literal idea is, “enemies against my life.” The common translation expresses the idea accurately. The sense is, that his enemies sought his life.

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