Read
Psalm 72:12
For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper.
10The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him.
12For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper.
13He will have pity on the poor and needy. He will save the souls of the needy.
14He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence. Their blood will be precious in his sight.
Notice
The king before whom nations bow attends to a poor person’s cry, linking the reach of his rule with help for someone who has no helper.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do you notice about the king’s power when his attention turns to someone with no helper?
Write on thisWhere in your life, or someone else’s, do the words “who has no helper” fit?
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
Job 29:12because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless also, who had no one to help him,Job describes delivering the poor who cried and the fatherless without help, matching the king’s response to the needy person’s cry.
Revelation 3:17–18Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing,’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;Both texts name poverty and need; the psalm describes a cry for help, while Revelation exposes need hidden beneath claims of wealth.
Psalm 102:17He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.The needy person’s cry receives deliverance in Psalm 72, and the destitute person’s prayer receives God’s attention in Psalm 102.
Hebrews 7:25Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.Both passages describe someone able to save: the king delivers the needy, and Jesus saves those who draw near to God through him.
Psalm 10:17LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear,Both passages describe attention to people in low places: the king delivers the needy, and the LORD hears the humble.
Ecclesiastes 4:1Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on …Both passages name people without support; Ecclesiastes describes oppression without a comforter, while the psalm describes a king who delivers the helpless.
John 5:7The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, another steps down before me.”The sick man’s lack of anyone to help him echoes the poor person’s lack of a helper in the psalm.
Psalm 82:3–4“Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.Both passages connect authority with care for the poor: one describes a king’s deliverance, and the other commands defense of their rights.
Isaiah 41:17The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.Both passages promise a response to the poor and needy: the king delivers them, and the LORD answers those seeking water.
Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to …Both passages connect care for the poor with deliverance, describing help that reaches people crushed by their circumstances.
Psalm 72:4He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.Both verses describe the same king protecting the poor, with verse 4 naming the needy children he saves and the oppressor he breaks.
2 Corinthians 8:9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.Both passages connect poverty with receiving help, though Paul describes Christ becoming poor for others and the psalm describes a king delivering the needy.
Where this verse fits
Job loss or money fear. loneliness. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Having no helper does not put the poor beyond the king’s concern. In this psalm, the ruler before whom nations bow uses his power to deliver them.
Now put it in your words.
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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).