He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”
For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler,
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His feathers.
Under His wings you will take refuge.
His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
nor of the arrow that flies by day,
nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand;
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes,
and see the recompense of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
and the Most High your dwelling place,
no evil shall happen to you,
neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
For He will put His angels in charge of you,
to guard you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands,
so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and cobra.
You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
“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.
He will call on Me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him, and honor him.
I will satisfy him with long life,
and show him My salvation.”
Latin correspondence unavailable for this passage.
Explanation — not a translation
In brief
Psalm 91 describes the safety of those who make God their refuge, in vivid images: a fortress, a bird’s sheltering wings, angels who guard. It ends with God Himself speaking: “I will be with him in trouble.” Christians have prayed it for centuries in times of danger. The Gospels also show how it can be misused, when the devil quotes it to Jesus.
The shape of the psalm
The psalm moves through three voices.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”
Latin correspondence unavailable for this passage.
A statement of trust: “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
Verses 3–13 then speak to “you,” describing the protection of the one who trusts: from “the snare of the fowler,” from “the terror by night,” from pestilence and violence. The images are those of a world where plague, war and wild animals were constant threats.
“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.
He will call on Me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him, and honor him.
I will satisfy him with long life,
and show him My salvation.”
Latin correspondence unavailable for this passage.
Finally God speaks: “I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him.”
Wings and fortress
“He will cover you with His feathers. Under His wings you will take refuge” (91:4) uses the picture of a mother bird sheltering her young, an image Jesus Himself uses when He laments over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37). The fortress, shield and rampart add the language of a walled city. Together they say that the safest place is close to God.
The devil’s quotation
When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he took Him to the pinnacle of the temple and quoted this psalm.
Then the devil took Him into the holy city. He set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written,
‘He will command His angels concerning You,’ and,
‘On their hands they will bear You up,
so that You don’t dash Your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”
Tunc assumpsit eum diabolus in sanctam civitatem, et statuit eum super pinnaculum templi, et dixit ei: Si Filius Dei es, mitte te deorsum. Scriptum est enim: Quia angelis suis mandavit de te, et in manibus tollent te, ne forte offendas ad lapidem pedem tuum. Ait illi Jesus: Rursum scriptum est: Non tentabis Dominum Deum tuum.Matthæus 4:5–7 · Clementine Vulgate
The devil quotes Psalm 91:11-12; Jesus answers with Deuteronomy 6:16.
The temptation was to treat the psalm as a guarantee: if the promise is true, jump, and force God to prove it. Jesus refuses, answering with another Scripture: “You shall not tempt the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16). Trusting God’s care is different from demanding that He perform on cue. The same story appears in Luke 4:9–12.
And Jesus, of whom the psalm was quoted, was not spared suffering. He went on to the cross. Christians read His life as the deepest fulfillment of the psalm’s final verses: God was with Him in trouble, delivered Him and honored Him in the resurrection.
What it promises — and what it doesn’t
Psalm 91 is not a guarantee that believers will never become ill, be injured or face disaster. Faithful people in every age have died in plagues and wars, and their faith was not weak. The psalm itself assumes trouble will come (91:15). Reading it as a shield that makes medical care or ordinary precautions unnecessary misunderstands it, in the way the devil misunderstood it. Seeking treatment is consistent with faith; the guide on reading the Bible’s healing passages discusses this with care.
What the psalm does offer is a place to stand: whatever happens, those who trust God are held by Him, and nothing can finally separate them from His love (Romans 8:35–39).
How it has been read
Jewish tradition includes Psalm 91 among the prayers said at bedtime. In the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours it is prayed at Night Prayer on Sundays, and it is sung on the First Sunday of Lent in some years, alongside the Gospel of the temptation. Christians of many traditions have turned to it in times of war and epidemic.
Numbering note
In the Clementine Vulgate and some older Catholic Bibles, this psalm is numbered 90 (Qui habitat). The Latin appears beside the English on this site only where the verses are verified to correspond.
Read it with
Psalm 46:1 names God as “a very present help in trouble” (explained here). Psalm 23:4 walks through the dark valley with God. The Difficult times page gathers related passages.