Passage

Psalms 23.4

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters. 3. He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

"4. Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."

"5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over. 6. Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever." (Psalms 23:2-6, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"2. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."

"4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

"5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. 6. Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever." (Psalms 23:2-6, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ^{green: Heb. pastures of tender grass} ^{still: Heb. waters of quietness} 3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

"4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

"5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ^{anointest: Heb. makest fat} 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. ^{for ever: Heb. to length of days}" (Psalms 23:2-6, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"2. In pastures of tender grass He causeth me to lie down, By quiet waters He doth lead me. 3. My soul He refresheth, He leadeth me in paths of righteousness, For His name's sake,"

"4. Also, when I walk in a valley of death-shade, I fear no evil, for Thou [art] with me, Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me."

"5. Thou arrangest before me a table, Over-against my adversaries, Thou hast anointed with oil my head, My cup is full! 6. Only, goodness and kindness pursue me, All the days of my life, And my dwelling [is] in the house of Jehovah, For a length of days!" (Psalms 23:2-6, 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

No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)

Quoted in

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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.