Psalms 27:9

Hide not Your face from me, nor turn away Your servant in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or forsake me, O God of my salvation.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, pleading for continued presence after vowing to seek His face in verse 8. The request follows a warning against divine rejection and precedes the assurance that God will receive him even if human family abandons him.

The words — The Hebrew prohibitions אַל־תַּסְתֵּר ('al-tas.Ter) and אַל־תַּט ('al-tat) literally command "may not hide" and "may not turn aside," directing God’s face and anger away from the speaker. The psalmist anchors the plea in past experience, noting "You have been my helper," before demanding God not leave or forsake him.

The thread — The phrase "Hide not Your face" recurs in Psalms 69:17, 143:7, and 102:2 as a standard plea during distress. The theme of God receiving the speaker when human relatives forsake him echoes the structural contrast in verse 10.

Why it lands — The text demands a reader acknowledge that divine presence is not automatic but must be continually sought and trusted. It requires the reader to ground future requests in past divine faithfulness rather than present circumstances.

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

אַל־'al-may not תַּסְתֵּ֬רtas.Teryou hide פָּנֶ֨יךָ׀pa.Nei./khaface/ your מִמֶּנִּי֮mi.me./Nifrom/ me אַֽל־'al-may not תַּט־tat-you turn aside בְּאַ֗ףbe./'Afin/ anger עַ֫בְדֶּ֥ךָ'av.De./khaservant/ your עֶזְרָתִ֥י'ez.ra.T/ihelp/ my הָיִ֑יתָha.Yi.tayou have been אַֽל־'al-may not תִּטְּשֵׁ֥נִיti.te.She./niyou abandon/ me וְאַל־ve./'al-and/ may not תַּֽ֝עַזְבֵ֗נִיta.'az.Ve./niyou forsake/ me אֱלֹהֵ֥י'e.lo.HeiO God of יִשְׁעִֽי׃yish.'/Isalvation/ my

King James Version

Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

Cross-references

Psalms 69:17 Hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me quickly!
Psalms 143:7 Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
Psalms 102:2 Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call.
Isaiah 46:3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth.
2 Timothy 4:17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.
Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
Psalms 24:5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from the God of his salvation.
Psalms 38:21 Do not forsake me, O LORD; be not far from me, O my God.
Psalms 71:17 O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.
Jeremiah 32:40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.