Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Psalms 141:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 141:8: The opening contrast in “But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord” turns the argument of “Guard my mouth and keep me from violent traps.”
Read It With
- Psalms 141:1–10
Read Psalms 141:8 with 141:1–10. Read alone, “But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 141:1–10, the individual voice carries the movement “Guard my mouth and keep me from violent traps” as part of “Guard my mouth and keep me from violent traps.” Its lament-wisdom form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 141:1–10 opens Psalm 141 with “LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto…” and establishes the individual voice and “Guard my mouth and keep me from violent traps” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 141:8 turns the movement by contrasting what precedes it with “But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord.”
What Remains True
In “Guard my mouth and keep me from violent traps,” Psalm 141:8 turns the movement by contrasting what precedes it with “But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord.” The resulting truth stays bounded by this movement: Wisdom is formed through sustained attention to the LORD's instruction and embodied choices, not through a formula that guarantees ease or status. The local movement is “Guard my mouth and keep me from violent traps.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The request for correction and guarded speech does not require accepting abusive rebuke or concealing danger.
How It Can Shape Life
- The practice should match “Guard my mouth and keep me from violent traps” rather than an isolated slogan. Psalm 141:8 turns the movement by contrasting what precedes it with “But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord.” Therefore, Return to “But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord” slowly, identify the concrete choice it commends, and practice that choice without turning wisdom into a prosperity contract.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Psalms 141:1–10 — Guard my mouth and keep me from violent trapsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 141:1–10, 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 141:1–10
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 141:1–10.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 141 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 141:1–10
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗