Psalm 11 answers the voice of panic: “In the Lord I put my trust: how then do you say to my soul: Get thee away from hence to the mountain like a sparrow?” When the wicked aim their arrows and everything seems to collapse, the psalmist looks up: “The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven.” In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 10. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 11 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end. A psalm for David.
In the Lord I put my trust: how then do you say to my soul: Get thee away from hence to the mountain like a sparrow?
For, lo, the wicked have bent their bow; they have prepared their arrows in the quiver; to shoot in the dark the upright of heart.
For they have destroyed the things which thou hast made: but what has the just man done?
The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes look on the poor man: his eyelids examine the sons of men.
The Lord trieth the just and the wicked: but he that loveth iniquity hateth his own soul.
He shall rain snares upon sinners: fire and brimstone and storms of winds shall be the portion of their cup.
For the Lord is just, and hath loved justice: his countenance hath beheld righteousness.
Psalm 11 or Psalm 10?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 10 is Psalm 11 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins In Domino confido. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- The temptation to flee: fear says, “Run away like a bird.”
- Danger in the dark: the wicked shoot “in the dark the upright of heart.”
- When foundations shake: modern translations, from the Hebrew, ask, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the just do?”; the Douay, from the Latin, reads “they have destroyed the things which thou hast made: but what has the just man done?”
- God still reigns: “The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven.”
- God sees and judges: “His eyes look on the poor man,” and “his countenance hath beheld righteousness.”
How the Church uses Psalm 11
- In the Liturgy of the Hours, at Evening Prayer.
- In times of crisis and fear, as a prayer of courage. See psalms for protection.
A prayer with Psalm 11
Written for this page:
Lord, in you I take refuge; I will not flee in fear.
When the foundations of my world are shaken, you remain on your throne.
Your eyes see the poor and the upright;
let me trust you and one day see your face. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What is Psalm 11 about?
Refusing to give in to panic and flight, and trusting God who reigns in heaven and sees all.
Where is “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
Psalm 11:3 in modern Bibles; the Douay-Rheims (10:4) translates the Latin differently.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 10 (11), Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.