Author

Attributed to David

King of Israel traditionally credited with composing many of the Psalms

About Attributed to David

Hebrew tradition credits David, shepherd, musician and king of Israel around 1000 BC, with many psalms, and the Hebrew superscription of Psalm 23 calls it a psalm of David. Modern scholars debate how much of the Psalter goes back to David himself. The English text here is the King James Version of 1611, made by about fifty scholars appointed under James I, who drew on Tyndale, Coverdale and the Geneva Bible.

Notable works

Frequently Cited

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Psalm 23, Psalm 23:1
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”
Psalm 23, Psalm 23:2
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Psalm 23, Psalm 23:4
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
Psalm 23, Psalm 23:5
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
Psalm 23, Psalm 23:6

On this site

Psalm 23

Attributed to David

c. 1000 BC (traditional); KJV 1611 · Ancient · Poetry

Psalm 23 is a six-verse song of trust, headed in the Hebrew Psalter as a psalm of David and placed in the first book of Psalms, between the anguished cry of Psalm 22 and the processional hymn of Psalm 24. Its speaker never asks for anything.

low medical relevanceFaith / ReligionDeath / MortalityStoicism Endurance