Bible Strands
Psalms 71:7
I have become a portent to many, but You are my strong refuge.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, marking a pivot from his lifelong dependence on divine deliverance to his current experience of public alienation.
The words — מוֹפֵת (mo.fet) translates literally as "portent" or "sign," while עֹז ('oz) means "strength," which directly modifies מַֽחֲסִי (ma.cha.si) to form the phrase "strong refuge."
The thread — The motif of a faithful figure serving as a sign or portent appears in Isaiah 8:18, and the explicit identification of God as a strong refuge recurs in Psalms 62:7.
Why it lands — The text states that divine protection stands as the only structural support when a person's social standing collapses into public scrutiny, requiring the reader to anchor trust in that protection rather than in human validation.
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
I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 8:18 Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
- Psalms 62:7 My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God.
- Acts 4:13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.
- 1 Corinthians 4:9 For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.
- Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all.
- 2 Corinthians 6:8 through glory and dishonor, slander and praise; viewed as imposters, yet genuine;
- Psalms 61:3 For You have been my refuge, a tower of strength against the enemy.
- Zechariah 3:6 Then the angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua:
- Luke 2:34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
- 2 Corinthians 4:8 We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;