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Psalm chapter 144

English Standard Version

1Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; 2he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. 3O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? 4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. 5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! 6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them! 7 Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners, 8whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, 10who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword. 11Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace; 13 may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; 14may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing; may there be no cry of distress in our streets! 15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
New International Version

1Of David. Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
2He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. 3 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them?
4They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow. 5Part your heavens, Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. 6Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy; shoot your arrows and rout them. 7Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners
8whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. 9I will sing a new song to you, my God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
10to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David. From the deadly sword
11deliver me; rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. 12Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. 13Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; 14our oxen will draw heavy loads. There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets. 15Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
New American Standard Bible

1Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle; 2My faithfulness and my fortress, My stronghold and my savior, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me. 3Lord, what is man, that You look after him? Or a son of man, that You think of him? 4Man is like the breath; His days are like a passing shadow. 5Bend down Your heavens, Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains, that they may smoke. 6Flash forth lightning and scatter them; Send out Your arrows and confuse them. 7Reach out with Your hand from on high; Rescue me and save me from great waters, From the hand of foreigners 8Whose mouths speak deceit, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9God, I will sing a new song to You; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You, 10Who gives salvation to kings, Who rescues His servant David from the evil sword. 11Rescue me and save me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks deceit And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12When our sons in their youth are like growing plants, And our daughters like corner pillars fashioned for a palace, 13Our granaries are full, providing every kind of produce, And our flocks deliver thousands and ten thousands in our fields; 14 May our cattle be bred Without mishap and without loss, May there be no outcry in our streets! 15Blessed are the people who are so situated; Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
Christian Standard Bible

1Of David. Blessed be the Lord, my rock who trains my hands for battle and my fingers for warfare.
2He is my faithful love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him; he subdues my people under me. 3 Lord, what is a human that you care for him, a son of man that you think of him?
4A human is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. 5 Lord, part your heavens and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke. 6Flash your lightning and scatter the foe; shoot your arrows and rout them. 7Reach down from on high; rescue me from deep water, and set me free from the grasp of foreigners
8whose mouths speak lies, whose right hands are deceptive. 9God, I will sing a new song to you; I will play on a ten-stringed harp for you — 10the one who gives victory to kings, who frees his servant David from the deadly sword.
11Set me free and rescue me from foreigners whose mouths speak lies, whose right hands are deceptive. 12Then our sons will be like plants nurtured in their youth, our daughters, like corner pillars that are carved in the palace style. 13Our storehouses will be full, supplying all kinds of produce; our flocks will increase by thousands and tens of thousands in our open fields. 14Our cattle will be well fed. There will be no breach in the walls, no going into captivity, and no cry of lament in our public squares. 15Happy are the people with such blessings. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
New Living Translation

1Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. 2He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me.
3O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? 4For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow.
5Open the heavens, Lord, and come down. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke. 6Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them! 7Reach down from heaven and rescue me; rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies. 8Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.
9I will sing a new song to you, O God! I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp. 10For you grant victory to kings! You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword. 11Save me! Rescue me from the power of my enemies. Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.
12May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace. 13May our barns be filled with crops of every kind. May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, even tens of thousands, 14and may our oxen be loaded down with produce. May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares. 15Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.
King James Version

1A Psalm of David. Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
2My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.
3Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!
4Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.
5Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
7Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;
8Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
10It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
11Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:
12That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:
13That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:
14That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.
15Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.
New King James Version

1{A Psalm of David.} Blessed be the Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle— 2My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me. 3 Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? 4 Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow. 5 Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. 6 Flash forth lightning and scatter them; Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them. 7Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners, 8Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9I will sing a new song to You, O God; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You, 10 The One who gives salvation to kings, Who delivers David His servant From the deadly sword. 11Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood— 12That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as pillars, Sculptured in palace style; 13 That our barns may be full, Supplying all kinds of produce; That our sheep may bring forth thousands And ten thousands in our fields; 14 That our oxen may be well laden; That there be no breaking in or going out; That there be no outcry in our streets. 15 Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

What does Psalm chapter 144 mean?

This is one of the few psalms where David refers to himself by name (Psalm 18:50; 122:5; 144:10). Most mentions of David in the psalms appear in titles. Psalm 18 contains many of the same ideas and uses similar phrasings.

David begins by crediting his skill in battle to God's provision. Even when he was young, David had to learn to handle weapons (1 Samuel 17:34–35). In adulthood, these skills were honed into a successful military career (1 Samuel 18:14). David also relied fully on the Lord for protection and strength. All of King David's success, including his rule over the people, were the result of God's intervention (Psalm 144:1–2).

That the Creator of the universe would pay attention to mankind is amazing (Psalm 89:5; 102:11; 109:23). Yet David notes that God is concerned with what happens to humanity (Psalm 8:4). This interest is even more astounding, since man's life is short (James 4:14) and uncertain (Psalm 144:3–4).

The psalm then asks the Lord to demonstrate His power on earth much as He did at Sinai (Exodus 19:18–25; 20:18–21). This is part of a request for God to help David defeat deceitful enemies. These opponents are so corrupt that even their vows—which they swear with the right hand—are lies. These forces threaten to overwhelm David like a flood that drowns everything it covers. His prayer is for God's intervention (Psalm 144:5–8).

David anticipates that God will grant his requests. Part of this is David's plan to compose new music praising the Lord. Success in battle would mean sparing David from the harm that comes with war. As God's servant, David expected the Lord to keep His promises (2 Samuel 7:16) and to maintain the throne of Israel. The psalm repeats nearly the same phrasing just used regarding liars and enemy nations (Psalm 144:9–11).

If a godly king is preserved over a godly nation, good things will result. David both prays for prosperity and expects that it will occur because the people honor the Lord God. Sons are compared to fast-growing, strong plants. Daughters are compared to palace pillars which are beautifully formed and covered in fine things. Livestock thrive and multiply without undue problems and the people have more than enough crops. These benefits are true blessings, but to be a people who worship the Lord is even more of a blessing (Psalm 144:12–15).
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