Psalms 11:1–7, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Psalms 11:1–7
Refuge when social foundations shake
A taunt to fly, while the bow is already bent
The voice begins in trust, then quotes the advice thrown at him: flee like a bird to the mountain. The wicked have bent the bow, fitted the arrow, to shoot the upright in the dark.
If the foundations are destroyed, the advisers ask, what can the righteous do? The panic is social collapse. The psalm does not mock the danger. It refuses the conclusion that the only move is flight from God.
A throne in heaven, and a rain of snares
The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven. His eyes see; they test the children of men. He tests the righteous. His soul hates the one who loves violence.
On the wicked he will rain coals, fire, and brimstone; a scorching wind is the portion of their cup. The upright will behold his face. Refuge here is where the speaker stands, not a command to ignore evacuation, courts, or competent help when foundations shake.
How this should shape us
When people tell you to flee the whole moral world, answer with where God still sits, not with naivete about arrows. Take refuge without calling protection unbelief, and without treating violence as a tool God owes your side.
Teach it back
Explain Psalms 11:1–7 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 11 and Book I, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Psalms 11:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 11:1–7
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 11:1–7.
Official NET Bible Psalm 11 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 11:1–7
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 11:1–7
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 11 for Psalms 11:1–7
Sources for This Section
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Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 11:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 11:1–7
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 11:1–7.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 11 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 11:1–7
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 11:1–7
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 11 for Psalms 11:1–7
Open NETS Psalms ↗