New English Translation
Psalms 18:28
28Indeed, you are my lamp, Lord. My God illuminates the darkness around me.
Psalms 18:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
- New International Version (NIV)You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
Context of Psalms 18:28
26You prove to be reliable to one who is blameless, but you prove to be deceptive to one who is perverse. 27For you deliver oppressed people, but you bring down those who have a proud look. Indeed, you are my lamp, Lord. My God illuminates the darkness around me. 29Indeed, with your help I can charge against an army; by my God’s power I can jump over a wall. 30The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the Lord’s promise is reliable; he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.
Read all of Psalms 18Psalms 18:28 word by word
כִּֽי־אַ֭תָּה תָּאִ֣יר נֵרִ֑י יְהוָ֥ה אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י יַגִּ֥יהַּ חָשְׁכִּֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 18:28
- Psalms 112:4In the darkness a light shines for the godly, for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just.
- Job 18:6The light in his tent grows dark; his lamp above him is extinguished.
- Job 29:3when he caused his lamp to shine upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness;
- Psalms 132:17There I will make David strong; I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue.
- 2 Samuel 22:29Indeed, you are my lamp, Lord. The Lord illumines the darkness around me.
- 1 Kings 11:36I will leave his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.
- Proverbs 20:27The human spirit is like the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.
- Isaiah 62:1“For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines brightly and her deliverance burns like a torch.”
- Isaiah 42:16I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. I will turn the darkness in front of them into light, and level out the rough ground. This is what I will do for them. I will not abandon them.
- Matthew 4:16the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned.”
- Luke 1:79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
- 1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Commentaries on Psalms 18:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28For thou wilt light my candle - Thou wilt restore me to prosperity, and give me a happy issue out of all my afflictions. By the lamp of David the Messiah may be meant: thou wilt not suffer my family to become extinct, nor the kingdom which thou hast promised me utterly to fail.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28For thou wilt light my candle - Margin, lamp. The word lamp best expresses the idea. In the Scriptures light is an image of prosperity, success, happiness, holiness, as darkness is the image of the opposite. See the notes at Job 29:2-3; compare also Job 18:6; Job 21:17; Proverbs 20:27; Proverbs 24:20; Psalm 119:105; Psalm 132:17; Isaiah 62:1. The meaning here is, that the psalmist felt assured that God would give him prosperity, as if his lamp were kept…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 Those that forsake the ways of the Lord, depart from their God. But though conscious to ourselves of many a false step, let there not be a wicked departure from our God. David kept his eye upon the rule of God's commands. Constant care to keep from that sin, whatever it be, which most easily besets us, proves that we are upright before God. Those who show mercy to others, even they need mercy. Those who are faithful to God, shall find him all…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28light my lamp: The Lord renews the psalmist's life, helping him overcome the darkness of difficult times (see Psalms 112:4; 119:105).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2828. To give one light is to make prosperous (Job 18:5, 6; 21:17). thou--is emphatic, as if to say, I can fully confide in Thee for help.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 18:28
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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