Psalm 20:9
“Save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call. ”
KJV
Read in Psalm 20Meaning
The final line asks for saving royal help, but its Hebrew syntax allows more than one punctuation and translation: “LORD, save the king” or “Save, LORD; may the King answer us.” The theological center is dependence on God rather than certainty about one English punctuation.
Final cry for saving royal help
Verse 9 closes with a compact plea whose Hebrew syntax is rendered differently across translations: either a cry for the LORD to save the king or a plea that the King answer when the people call.
Read carefully
The final line asks for saving royal help, but its Hebrew syntax allows more than one punctuation and translation: “LORD, save the king” or “Save, LORD; may the King answer us.” The theological center is dependence on God rather than certainty about one English punctuation. Keep the verse inside its literary unit.
Reflection
Read this verse as part of a communal royal prayer that entrusts crisis, leadership, worship, plans, and victory to God without turning the psalm into a guarantee of military success, prosperity, nationalism, or magical protection.