Read
Psalm 68:20
God is to us a God of deliverance. To GOD, the Lord, belongs escape from death.
18You have ascended on high. You have led away captives. You have received gifts among people, yes, among the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell there.
19Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens, even the God who is our salvation. Selah.
20God is to us a God of deliverance. To GOD, the Lord, belongs escape from death.
21But God will strike through the head of his enemies, the hairy scalp of such a one as still continues in his guiltiness.
22The Lord said, “I will bring you again from Bashan, I will bring you again from the depths of the sea,
Notice
“Escape from death” names the starkest need for rescue, and the psalm locates that rescue in the Lord’s hands, beyond the reach of human control.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What comes to mind when you read that escape from death belongs to the Lord?
Write on thisWhere have you seen deliverance, and what remains unresolved as you read this declaration?
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
Revelation 1:18and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.The psalm assigns escape from death to the Lord; Revelation’s living speaker declares possession of the keys of Death and Hades.
Deuteronomy 32:39“See now that I myself am he. There is no god with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.Both passages place life and death under God’s authority, with Deuteronomy declaring that no one can deliver from his hand.
Proverbs 21:31The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory is with the LORD.The psalm attributes deliverance to God, while Proverbs attributes victory to the LORD even when the horse stands prepared for battle.
Psalm 25:5Guide me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. I wait for you all day long.Both psalms name God as the source of salvation; Psalm 25 joins that confession to a request for guidance.
John 4:22You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.Both passages speak of salvation’s source, though John names its connection to the Jews while the psalm names God as deliverer.
Jonah 2:9But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the LORD.”Jonah says salvation belongs to the LORD, matching the psalm’s declaration that escape from death belongs to him.
John 5:21For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.The psalm declares God’s power to deliver from death; John speaks of the Father and the Son giving life to the dead.
Isaiah 12:2Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD, the LORD, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation.”Both passages name God as the source of salvation, with Isaiah expressing trust in the LORD as strength and song.
1 Samuel 2:6“The LORD kills and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol and brings up.Both texts place deliverance from death within the LORD’s power; Samuel also names his power to kill and bring down to Sheol.
Psalm 56:13For you have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.Psalm 56 recounts deliverance from death, the very rescue Psalm 68 declares belongs to the Lord.
Psalm 118:17–18I will not die, but live, and declare the LORD’s works.Both psalms speak of life preserved from death, with Psalm 118 linking continued life to declaring the LORD’s works.
Psalm 18:46The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock. Exalted be the God of my salvation,Both psalms identify God as the source of salvation, and Psalm 18 praises him as living and worthy of exaltation.
Where this verse fits
Death and what comes after. illness or diagnosis. answered prayer.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
No timetable for rescue is given here, and no promise that danger will never come. Yet escape from death belongs to the Lord, the God of deliverance.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 68:20. 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 68 · 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).