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Psalm 20:1

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,

1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,
2send you help from the sanctuary, grant you support from Zion,
3remember all your offerings, and accept your burned sacrifice. Selah.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →
Psalm 20:2 →
Notice

The repeated “May” makes this a prayer for someone facing trouble, with hope resting on the God of Jacob’s answer and protection.

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

Whose day of trouble comes to mind as you read this prayer addressed to another person?

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What kind of help would you ask God for through the words “set you up on high”?

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Connect

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
Proverbs 18:10The LORD’s name is a strong tower: the righteous run to him, and are safe.Both texts connect the LORD’s name with protection, using height in the psalm and a strong tower in Proverbs.
Psalm 138:7Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand will save me.Both turn to God amid trouble: Psalm 20 asks for his answer, while Psalm 138 expresses confidence in his saving help.
Psalm 91:14–15“Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name.Both connect God’s name with being set on high, expressing protection through the same image.
Psalm 46:11The LORD of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.Both name the God of Jacob as the source of protection, with Psalm 46 describing him as a refuge.
Isaiah 50:10Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness and has no light, let him trust in the LORD’s name, and rely on his …Both direct hope toward the LORD’s name when circumstances offer no security, whether described as trouble or darkness.
Hebrews 5:7He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been …Psalm 20 asks God to answer in trouble; Hebrews describes prayers offered with tears to God and being heard.
Psalm 46:1For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.Both speak of trouble and look to God for help, with Psalm 46 naming him as refuge and strength.
Matthew 26:38–39Then Jesus said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me.”Both concern distress in the presence of others: Psalm 20 voices prayer for another, while Jesus asks his companions to stay.
Jeremiah 30:7Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it! It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he will be saved out of it.Both mention Jacob and a day of trouble, linking that distress with hope of rescue.
Exodus 34:5–7The LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the LORD’s name.The LORD’s name is central to both: it is proclaimed in Exodus and appealed to for protection in Psalm 20.
Exodus 3:13–15Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his …Both connect God’s name with ancestral identity: Psalm 20 names Jacob, while Moses speaks of the God of Israel’s fathers.
Nahum 1:7The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.Both use the phrase “in the day of trouble” and look to the LORD for protection.
Where this verse fits

Fear for the future. anxiety or panic. leadership weight.

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

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray Psalm 20:1 for one friend facing trouble

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Encouragement

Trouble is taken seriously here, and someone meets it with prayer for another person. The plea rests on the God of Jacob, whose name is the ground of hope.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 20:1. 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 20 · 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).