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Psalm 17:9

from the wicked who oppress me, my deadly enemies, who surround me.

7Show your marvelous loving kindness, you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.
8Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings,
9from the wicked who oppress me, my deadly enemies, who surround me.
10They close up their callous hearts. With their mouth they speak proudly.
11They have now surrounded us in our steps. They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.
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← Psalm 17:8Psalm 17:10 →
Notice

“Surround me” leaves no safe side in view, making the plea for shelter in the preceding verse urgent in the face of lethal danger.

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

How does “surround me” shape your reading of the plea to hide under God's wings?

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What words would you use to ask God for shelter when danger seems to leave no escape?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

7 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
1 Samuel 23:26Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David hurried to get away for fear of Saul, for Saul and his …Both passages describe being surrounded by enemies, with Saul's pursuit of David showing how such encirclement threatens escape and life.
Psalm 124:6Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.Both passages speak of enemies as a threat to life; Psalm 17 asks for shelter, while Psalm 124 blesses God for deliverance.
Psalm 35:4Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.Both prayers name enemies intent on destroying the speaker, seeking God's protection or the defeat of those who plot harm.
Psalm 35:7For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.Both passages describe enemies intent on harm, with Psalm 35 picturing their concealed traps and Psalm 17 their encirclement.
Psalm 13:2How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me?Both prayers bring the threat of an enemy before God, though Psalm 13 also names the sorrow of prolonged waiting.
1 Samuel 24:11Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe and didn’t kill you, know and see that …David names Saul's pursuit of his life, matching Psalm 17's description of enemies whose hostility carries a threat of death.
1 Chronicles 17:9I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more. The children of wickedness will …Both texts concern harm from the wicked: Psalm 17 seeks God's shelter, and Chronicles records God's promise of a secure home for Israel.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. fear for the future.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about fear →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray for someone facing threats of violence

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Encouragement

The danger remains unresolved in this line. Yet the plea is directed to the God described as saving those who take refuge in him.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 17:9. 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 17 · 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).