Psalms 11 (ASV)

Chapter Text

11:1 In Jehovah do I take refuge: How say ye to my soul, Flee [as] a bird to your mountain;

11:2 For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart;

11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do?

11:4 Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

11:5 Jehovah trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

11:6 Upon the wicked he will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.

11:7 For Jehovah is righteous; he loveth righteousness: The upright shall behold his face. Psalm 12 For the Chief Musician; set to the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "darkness", "jehovah", "take", "refuge", "soul", "flee", "bird", and "mountain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "darkness" and "jehovah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local ASV text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "darkness" and "jehovah" carries the first interpretive weight. In The LORD as Shepherd, the local focus is trust, covenant mercy, guidance, and worship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "darkness" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.