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Psalm 146:9

The LORD preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.

7who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.
8The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down. The LORD loves the righteous.
9The LORD preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.
10The LORD will reign forever; your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
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Notice

Foreigners, fatherless children, and widows receive God's care here, while the wicked face a reversal that makes human power look far less secure.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What stands out to you about the people named as recipients of God's protection and support?

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What hopes or questions arise when you read that God turns the wicked's way upside down?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

11 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
Psalm 1:1Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;The wicked appear in both passages: one warns against their counsel, while the other declares God's opposition to their way.
Psalm 1:6For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.Both passages name the way of the wicked and declare that it cannot stand secure under the LORD's rule.
Deuteronomy 10:18He executes justice for the fatherless and widow and loves the foreigner in giving him food and clothing.Both name the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow as recipients of God's care; Deuteronomy specifies justice, food, and clothing.
Psalm 68:5A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.Both describe God's care for the fatherless and widows, with Psalm 68 naming him as father and defender.
Proverbs 15:25The LORD will uproot the house of the proud, but he will keep the widow’s borders intact.Both contrast the LORD's protection of the widow with his disruption of those who oppose his ways.
Psalm 147:6The LORD upholds the humble. He brings the wicked down to the ground.Both use the word “upholds” for the LORD's help and describe his overthrow of the wicked.
Malachi 3:5I will come near to you to judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the perjurers, and against those who …Both name foreigners, widows, and the fatherless; Malachi specifies God's judgment against those who deny them justice.
Exodus 22:21–22“You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.Both concern the foreigner: the psalm declares the LORD's protection, while Exodus forbids wronging or oppressing an alien.
Jeremiah 49:11Leave your fatherless children. I will preserve them alive. Let your widows trust in me.”Both speak of God's care for fatherless children and widows, with Jeremiah expressing preservation and grounds for trust.
1 Timothy 5:3Honor widows who are widows indeed.Both single out widows for care: the psalm describes God's support, while Timothy commands that widows receive honor.
James 1:27Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the …Both name the fatherless and widows as people to care for; James specifies visiting them in their affliction.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. grief. loneliness.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about grief →What the Bible says about loneliness →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Send a widowed acquaintance a note offering company

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Encouragement

The people named here may lack protection others take for granted. Their lives matter to YHWH, whose care sustains them and whose rule overturns the wicked's way.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 146:9. 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).