Bible Strands
Psalms 4:3
Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses his adversaries who have maligned his honor (v. 2), responding not with counter-attack but with a declaration of God's prior action toward the faithful.
The words — הִפְלָה (hiphlah, "he has set apart") is a Hiphil form denoting a deliberate, sovereign act of separation; חָסִיד (chasid) is the covenantal "faithful one," not a generic moral label.
The thread — The initiative of divine choosing recurs in John 15:16 ("You did not choose Me, but I chose you"), and the hearing of the faithful's cry in Psalms 34:15 and 91:14.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to stop negotiating their standing before God and recognize that their prayer is heard on the ground of His prior separation, not their prior performance.
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
But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.
Cross-references
- John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
- Psalms 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- Psalms 91:14 “Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
- 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”
- 2 Peter 2:9 if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- Titus 2:14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
- 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Exodus 33:16 For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
- Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.