Bible Strands
Psalms 11:1
For the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David addresses unnamed counselors who urge him to abandon his current position and escape to a fortified hill. He speaks during a moment of imminent danger, as the surrounding context describes the wicked preparing to shoot arrows at the upright from concealed positions.
The words — חָסִיתִי (cha.Si.ti) translates literally as "I have taken refuge," establishing the psalmist's foundational stance before Yahweh. אֵ֭יךְ ('eikh) means "how?" or "why," framing his rhetorical challenge to the advisors' counsel.
The thread — The motif of trusting God rather than fleeing to physical strongholds echoes in Psalms 56:11 and Isaiah 26:3, where steadfast trust yields peace and fearlessness. David's retreat to wilderness fortifications during Saul's pursuit also reflects this pattern of seeking God's shelter over human escape routes (1 Samuel 23:14).
Why it lands — The text demands a reader examine whether their response to threat is immediate flight or deliberate reliance on divine protection. It requires rejecting counsel that prioritizes physical safety over faithful endurance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
Cross-references
- Psalms 56:11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- 1 Samuel 23:14 And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand.
- Psalms 25:2 in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
- Luke 13:31 At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.
- Psalms 16:1 A Miktam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.
- Proverbs 6:5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
- 2 Chronicles 14:11 Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”
- Psalms 7:1 A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite. O LORD my God, I take refuge in You; save me and deliver me from all my pursuers,