Read
Psalm 146:3
Don’t put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no help.
1Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, my soul.
2While I live, I will praise the LORD. I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
3Don’t put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no help.
4His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish.
5Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Notice
The warning about princes challenges the hope that someone with enough power can secure a future beyond the limits of human life.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
Whose power or position feels most tied to your sense of safety right now?
Write on thisHow does the death described in verse 4 change your reading of the warning about princes?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Hebrews 13:6So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”Human power has limits in both passages; Hebrews voices courage through confidence in the Lord as helper.
Psalm 118:8–9It is better to take refuge in the LORD, than to put confidence in man.Both address trust in human beings, with Psalm 118 naming refuge in the LORD as the better choice.
Jeremiah 17:5–6The LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, relies on strength of flesh, and whose heart departs from the LORD.Both warn against trusting in human beings; Jeremiah also names reliance on flesh and a heart departing from the LORD.
Isaiah 2:22Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?Both reject trust in human beings, whose frailty Isaiah captures through the breath in their nostrils.
Psalm 8:4what is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him?Both use “son of man” for a human being; Psalm 8 asks about God’s care, while Psalm 146 questions human help.
Psalm 108:12Give us help against the enemy, for the help of man is vain.Both expose the limits of human help; Psalm 108 makes that limit part of a plea for help against an enemy.
Psalm 60:11Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain.Human help is inadequate in both passages, and Psalm 60 turns that recognition into a plea for aid against an adversary.
Isaiah 31:3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he …Both warn against reliance on human help; Isaiah describes helpers and those they help falling together under the LORD’s hand.
Isaiah 37:6Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The LORD says, “Don’t be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have …Both mention human rulers; Isaiah addresses fear of a king’s words, while the psalm warns against trust in princes.
1 Samuel 16:21David came to Saul and stood before him. He loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer.The connection is limited to human rulers: Samuel describes David serving Saul without making a statement about trust.
Daniel 6:9Therefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree.The shared thread is human authority: Darius signs a decree, while the psalm warns against trusting those who rule.
Isaiah 22:25“In that day,” says the LORD of Armies, “the nail that was fastened in a sure place will give way. It will be cut down and fall. The burden that was on it will …Both describe support that fails: the psalm rejects trust in human help, and Isaiah depicts a secure nail giving way.
Where this verse fits
Fear for the future. leadership weight.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Human power has an end, even when it looks secure. The surrounding verses direct your hope toward the God of Jacob, whose help outlasts the lives of princes.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 146:3. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 146 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).