Bible Strands
Psalms 28:9
Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; shepherd them and carry them forever.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, extending the immediate context of verse 8 where Yahweh is named the strength and stronghold for His anointed. The prayer is voiced in a moment of urgent communal supplication.
The words — The imperative הוֹשִׁיעָה (ho.shiʿāh) commands God to "save," while נַחֲלָתֶךָ (naḥălātekha) literally denotes "your inheritance." The parallel verbs רְעֵם (rəʿêm) and נַשְּׂאֵם (naśśəʾem) explicitly mean "shepherd them" and "carry them."
The thread — The shepherd and carrying imagery runs directly into Isaiah 40:11 and recalls the Davidic shepherd motif of Psalms 78:71. The designation of the community as God's people and inheritance mirrors the covenant phrasing of Deuteronomy 9:29.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that divine preservation is not automatic but must be actively petitioned. It establishes the community's continuity as entirely dependent on God's sustained action rather than human effort.
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
Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- Psalms 78:71 from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.
- Deuteronomy 9:29 But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.”
- Isaiah 63:9 In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
- 1 Kings 8:51 For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron.
- Matthew 2:6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”
- Ephesians 1:18 I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
- 1 Kings 8:53 For You, O Lord GOD, have set them apart from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Your servant Moses when You brought our fathers out of Egypt.”
- Ezra 1:4 And let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”
- Psalms 25:22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress.