O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse highlights how, even when praying for earthly leaders like a king, the ultimate plea is for God to act. The shift from praying for the king to asking that the king hear us reveals a profound reliance on God's authority to empower human leaders to truly serve their people. It shows us that God's intervention is the source of the king's ability to answer our cries.
O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This psalm is a prayer for God's king, likely David, as he goes out to battle. It begins with confidence in God's past faithfulness and then asks for continued protection and victory for the king and his people. The final verse, in its most likely reading, shifts to a plea for God to hear them when they call, emphasizing their dependence on His ultimate intervention.
In this final verse, who is God being asked to save, and who is expected to 'hear'?
This verse is packed with theological nuance, and how we understand its punctuation and wording can shift its meaning significantly!
Both readings highlight our absolute dependence on God's power and intervention, whether directly or through His appointed king. It’s a powerful reminder that ultimate authority and the final answer to our pleas rest with the Lord.
Amidst calls for salvation, where does true confidence lie?
The psalm begins with people trusting in chariots and horses – the military might of their day. But this final verse, regardless of its exact wording, powerfully redirects their trust.
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Understand the original words
melek · Hebrew Noun
The title designating the supreme ruler of God's chosen people, who functions under God's sovereignty as a shepherd and protector of the covenant community.
This verse reflects a common practice in ancient Israel: praying for the king's success in battle, recognizing him as God's chosen representative. The people's cry is for God's deliverance *and* for their king to be empowered by God to hear and answer their pleas.
c. 1010 BC
David Anointed King
David, a shepherd boy, is anointed king by Samuel, marking the beginning of his destined rise to power over Israel. This sets the stage for his future leadership and the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital.
c. 1000 BC
David Captures Jerusalem
David conquers the Jebusite city of Jerusalem and establishes it as his capital, the City of David. This strategic move unifies the tribes and creates a central hub for worship and governance.
c. 970 BC— this verse
David's Reign Continues
As king, David leads Israel through periods of war and peace, facing numerous challenges and victories. The nation flourishes under his rule, though not without internal struggles and external threats.
c. 970 BC
Psalms Written in David's Era
Many of the Psalms, including Psalm 20, are attributed to or reflect the experiences of David's reign. They capture the hopes, fears, and faith of a nation facing conflict and seeking God's favor.
This passage describes the people of Israel proclaiming Saul as king and shouting, 'Long live the king!' This echoes the sentiment of Psalm 20:9, where the people express their hope and support for their king in a time of national importance.
2 Chronicles 13:12Here, King Abijah reminds the people that they are fighting against the Lord, the God of their fathers, highlighting reliance on God rather than military might. This aligns with the trust in God expressed in Psalm 20, contrasting with the reliance on human strength mentioned in later verses (like v. 7).
Jeremiah 22:4This verse from Jeremiah, 'For if you diligently keep all these commandments, then there shall never fail to you a man to sit upon the throne of David, and the males shall never fail to go from our kings, and our priests,' speaks to the continuation of the Davidic line and the hope placed in the king as God's representative, similar to the prayers in Psalm 20.
Matthew 1:1This verse introduces Jesus as 'the son of David, the son of Abraham,' directly linking Him to the Davidic kingship. It shows how the hopes and prayers for an earthly king in Psalm 20 ultimately point to Jesus, the King of kings.
1 John 5:14The confidence that 'this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us' directly relates to the prayer in Psalm 20:9 that God would hear them when they call, emphasizing the certainty of answered prayer when aligned with God's purposes.
poolePsalms 20:9: "Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call."
Either, 1. David. So the sense is, O Lord, preserve and assist the king, that when we are distressed and cry to him for help, he may be able and ready to help us. Or, 2. God, the supreme Monarch, the King of kings, and in a peculiar manner the King of Israel, hear and answer us, when we pray for our king and people. And for the change of persons in this verse, nothing is more common. Or, 3. Christ, called the King both in the Old and…
ellicottPsalms 20:9: "Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call."
(9) Save Lord . . . —The Authorised Version follows the accentuation of the Masoretic text, but spoils the rhythm, and interrupts the sense. The LXX. and Vulg., followed by all modern commentators, dividing the verse differently render, “Jehovah, save the king,” whence our National Anthem. Jehovah thus becomes the subject of the verb hear in the last clause. “May He hear us in the day of our calling.” The change from second to third…
This verse highlights how, even when praying for earthly leaders like a king, the ultimate plea is for God to act. The shift from praying for the king to asking that the king hear us reveals a profound reliance on God's authority to empower human leaders to truly serve their people. It shows us that God's intervention is the source of the king's ability to answer our cries.
This psalm is a prayer for God's king, likely David, as he goes out to battle. It begins with confidence in God's past faithfulness and then asks for continued protection and victory for the king and his people. The final verse, in its most likely reading, shifts to a plea for God to hear them when they call, emphasizing their dependence on His ultimate intervention.
This psalm is a prayer for God's king, likely David, as he goes out to battle. It begins with confidence in God's past faithfulness and then asks for continued protection and victory for the king and his people. The final verse, in its most likely reading, shifts to a plea for God to hear them when they call, emphasizing their dependence on His ultimate intervention.
"O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call." — This verse highlights how, even when praying for earthly leaders like a king, the ultimate plea is for God to act. The shift from praying for the king to asking that the king hear us reveals a pr…
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Last reviewed October 2026