Bible Strands
Psalms 125:4
Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to the upright in heart.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses Yahweh, petitioning Him to act favorably toward the righteous community. This plea follows a declaration that God will not allow the wicked to dominate the righteous inheritance.
The words — The imperative הֵיטִיבָ (heiṯîḇā) commands Yahweh to "do good." It targets the לַטּוֹבִים (laṭṭôḇîm, "the good") and the יְשָׁרִים בְּלִבּוֹתָם (yešārîm bəlîḇṯām, "upright in heart").
The thread — The petition for divine favor toward the righteous echoes in Psalms 7:10 and 94:15, where God protects and guides those with upright hearts. The text contrasts this with the fate of the crooked in Psalms 125:5.
Why it lands — The verse states that moral alignment invites divine blessing, presenting it as a declared reality of God's character rather than a human transaction. It calls the reader to pursue integrity while trusting God to reward it.
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
Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.
Cross-references
- Psalms 7:10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
- Psalms 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Psalms 94:15 Surely judgment will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
- Psalms 119:68 You are good, and You do what is good; teach me Your statutes.
- Psalms 36:10 Extend Your loving devotion to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
- Psalms 51:18 In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
- Psalms 119:80 May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame.
- Psalms 32:2 Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.
- Psalms 73:1 A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
- Isaiah 58:10 and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.