Passage

Psalms 27.1

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. ^{A Psalm of David.} Jehova is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? Jehovah is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?"

"2. When evil-doers came upon me to eat up my flesh, Even mine adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. 3. Though a host should encamp against me, My heart shall not fear: Though war should rise against me, Even then will I be confident." (Psalms 27:1-3, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. By David. Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?"

"2. When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. 3. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident." (Psalms 27:1-3, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

"2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. ^{came: Heb. approached against me} 3. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident." (Psalms 27:1-3, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. By David. Jehovah [is] my light and my salvation, Whom do I fear? Jehovah [is] the strength of my life, Of whom am I afraid?"

"2. When evil doers come near to me to eat my flesh, My adversaries and mine enemies to me, They have stumbled and fallen. 3. Though a host doth encamp against me, My heart doth not fear, Though war riseth up against me, In this I [am] confident." (Psalms 27:1-3, 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

H2416 - chay, chay (Strong's H2416). Also appears in: Genesis 1.21, Genesis 1.24-28, Genesis 1.28.
H3068 - YHWH, YHWH (Strong's H3068). Also appears in: Genesis 2.4, Genesis 2.7, Genesis 2.16-17.

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.