Bible Strands
Psalms 40:4
Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God and the surrounding community while transitioning from personal deliverance to a general declaration of blessing. The speaker contrasts those who rely on Yahweh with those who follow the proud and deceitful.
The words — אַ֥שְׁרֵי ('ash.rei) translates as "how blessed" or "happy," and שָׂ֣ם (sam) means "he has made" or "placed." These terms frame the verse as a wisdom-style pronouncement establishing trust in Yahweh as the foundation of human stability.
The thread — The declaration of blessing for trust in Yahweh parallels Jeremiah 17:7 and Psalms 34:8, which similarly define blessedness as confidence in God. The warning against the proud and false echoes the broader biblical contrast between righteous reliance and arrogant deception.
Why it lands — The text demands a concrete reorientation of allegiance, requiring the reader to place Yahweh as their sole foundation and actively reject alliances with arrogance and falsehood. It measures spiritual health by the direction of one's trust and the company one follows.
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
Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- 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 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
- Psalms 125:5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
- Psalms 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
- Psalms 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
- Romans 15:12 And once more, Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”
- Psalms 15:4 who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
- Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Jonah 2:8 Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.