# Psalms 118.11

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [Psalms](/codex/psalms/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 9. It is better to take refuge in Jehovah Than to put confidence in princes. 10. All nations compassed me about: In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.
>
> **11. They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.**
>
> 12. They compassed me about like bees; They are quenched as the fire of thorns: In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off. 13. Thou didst thrust sore at me that I might fall; But Jehovah helped me. (Psalms 118:9-13, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 9. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes. 10. All the nations surrounded me, but in Yahweh’s name, I cut them off.
>
> **11. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In Yahweh’s name I indeed cut them off.**
>
> 12. They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In Yahweh’s name I cut them off. 13. You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me. (Psalms 118:9-13, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 9. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. 10. All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them. <sup>destroy: Heb. cut them off</sup>
>
> **11. They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.**
>
> 12. They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. <sup>destroy: Heb. cut down</sup> 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me. (Psalms 118:9-13, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 9. Better to take refuge in Jehovah, Than to trust in princes. 10. All nations have compassed me about, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off.
>
> **11. They have compassed me about, Yea, they have compassed me about, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off.**
>
> 12. They compassed me about as bees, They have been extinguished as a fire of thorns, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off. 13. Thou hast sorely thrust me to fall, And Jehovah hath helped me. (Psalms 118:9-13, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
- **Audience:** worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
- **Location:** Israel, various periods
- **Time period:** composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC

## Theological reading

## Key words

- [H3068 - YHWH](/codex/h3068-yhwh/), *YHWH* (Strong's H3068). Also appears in: [Genesis 2.4](/codex/genesis-2-4/), [Genesis 2.7](/codex/genesis-2-7/), [Genesis 2.16-17](/codex/genesis-2-16-17/).
- [H8034 - shem](/codex/h8034-shem/), *shem* (Strong's H8034). Also appears in: [Genesis 3](/codex/genesis-3/), [Genesis 4.26](/codex/genesis-4-26/), [Genesis 6.4](/codex/genesis-6-4/).

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.