Bible Strands
Psalms 14:6
You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed, yet the LORD is their shelter.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses sinners who oppose the vulnerable during a moment when God has intervened to overwhelm His enemies with dread and the community prays for national restoration.
The words — The Hebrew term `עֲצַת` ('atzat) literally means "[the] plan of," while `מַחְסֵהוּ` (machsehu) translates to "[is] refuge/ his," framing the verse’s contrast between human schemes and divine protection.
The thread — The motif of God as protector for the marginalized appears in Psalms 9:9, which explicitly calls Him a refuge for the oppressed, and in Psalms 42:10, where enemies taunt the vulnerable regarding God’s presence.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human opposition cannot override divine protection, and it calls the reader to trust God’s shelter rather than rely on human schemes.
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
Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge.
Cross-references
- Psalms 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
- Psalms 4:2 How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
- Psalms 42:10 Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Nehemiah 4:2 before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”
- Psalms 3:2 Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah
- Psalms 22:7 All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads:
- Psalms 40:17 But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
- Psalms 46:1 For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
- Psalms 142:5 I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- Isaiah 37:10 “Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.