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Psalm 9:17
The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.
15The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
16The LORD has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.
17The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.
18For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
19Arise, LORD! Don’t let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in your sight.
Notice
The fate of nations that forget God gives this warning a public weight: even whole peoples remain answerable to him.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
How does “all the nations” challenge the way you think about human power?
Write on thisHow does the promise for the needy in verse 18 shape your response to this warning?
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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
Romans 2:8–9but to those who are self-seeking and don’t obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath, indignation,Both passages speak of judgment upon wrongdoing, with the psalm naming wickedness and Paul describing obedience to unrighteousness.
Revelation 21:8But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns …Both passages connect wickedness with death under judgment, though they use distinct terms: Sheol and the second death.
Psalm 50:22“Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be no one to deliver.Both psalms warn those who forget God that they face destruction under his judgment.
2 Thessalonians 1:7–9and to give relief to you who are afflicted with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire,The shared thread is God's intervention: Psalm 9 describes judgment and hope for the needy, while Paul promises relief to the afflicted.
Luke 12:5But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.Both passages confront the reader with God's authority in judgment, though the psalm names Sheol and Jesus names Gehenna.
Job 8:13So are the paths of all who forget God. The hope of the godless man will perish,Both passages describe a ruinous end for those who forget God, linking godlessness with the loss of life or hope.
Psalm 145:20The LORD preserves all those who love him, but he will destroy all the wicked.Both psalms declare that the wicked face destruction under God's rule.
Jeremiah 13:25This is your lot, the portion measured to you from me,” says the LORD, “because you have forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.”Both passages connect forgetting God with judgment; Jeremiah also names trust in falsehood.
Jeremiah 18:15For my people have forgotten me. They have burned incense to false gods. They have been made to stumble in their ways in the ancient paths, to walk in byways, …Both passages name forgetting God as a grave wrong; Jeremiah describes that forgetting through worship of false gods.
Revelation 20:15If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.Both describe a dreadful fate under judgment, but use different terms and criteria: wickedness and Sheol, the book of life and fire.
Jeremiah 2:32“Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me for days without number.Both passages name forgetting God, with the psalm speaking of nations and Jeremiah accusing God's own people.
Isaiah 3:11Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them, for the deeds of their hands will be paid back to them.Both passages announce disaster for the wicked, with Isaiah describing it as repayment for their deeds.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. death and what comes after. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Sheol names the realm of the dead, making this a grave warning; in the surrounding lines, God judges wickedness and remembers the poor whose hope seems lost.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 9:17. 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 9 · 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).