The Meaning of Psalms 146:3 Explained

Psalms 146:3

KJV: Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

YLT: Trust not in princes -- in a son of man, For he hath no deliverance.

Darby: Put not confidence in nobles, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

ASV: Put not your trust in princes, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Put not your trust  in princes,  [nor] in the son  of man,  in whom [there is] no help. 

What does Psalms 146:3 Mean?

Study Notes

trust
.
Trust is the characteristic O.T. word for the N.T. "faith," "believe." It occurs 152 times in the O.T., and is the rendering of Heb. words signifying to take refuge (e.g. Ruth 2:12 "to lean on" (e.g.) Psalms 56:3 "to roll on" (e.g.) Psalms 22:8 "to stay upon" (e.g.) Job 35:14 .

Context Summary

Psalm 146:1-10 - The Lord Loveth The Righteous
This and the four following psalms are the "Hallelujah" Psalms. Each begins with that word. They were probably composed for use in the second Temple. In the Septuagint this psalm is ascribed to Zechariah and Haggai. The key to it is Psalms 146:5, which is the last of the twenty-six "Blesseds" in the Psalter. What can bring more blessedness into life than the recognition of Jehovah as Help and Hope?
Psalms 146:6-10 emphasizes the present tense in a way which reminds us of the words of our Lord: "My Father worketh hitherto." It is true that with the oppressed and the prisoners in iron circumstance, the blind and the bowed-down, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widowed, the promises appear unfulfilled. This, however, is probably due to the failure of God's Church and of themselves to realize that the Kingdom has been set up in the unseen sphere, but that we need to appropriate its deliverances by faith. "They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign." But all God's promises, like the great promise of salvation, are contingent on the exercise of faith. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 146

1  The Psalmist vows perpetual praises to God
3  He exhorts not to trust in man
5  God, for his power, justice, mercy, and kingdom, is only worthy to be trusted

What do the individual words in Psalms 146:3 mean?

Not do put your trust in princes [Nor] in a son of man [there is] no in whom help
אַל־ תִּבְטְח֥וּ בִנְדִיבִ֑ים בְּבֶן־ אָדָ֓ם ׀ שֶׁ֤אֵֽין ל֥וֹ תְשׁוּעָֽה

תִּבְטְח֥וּ  do  put  your  trust 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: בָּטוּחַ 
Sense: to trust.
בִנְדִיבִ֑ים  in  princes 
Parse: Preposition-b, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: נָדִיב  
Sense: inclined, willing, noble, generous.
בְּבֶן־  [Nor]  in  a  son 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אָדָ֓ם ׀  of  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
שֶׁ֤אֵֽין  [there  is]  no 
Parse: Pronoun, relative, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
ל֥וֹ  in  whom 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
תְשׁוּעָֽה  help 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תְּשׁוּעָה  
Sense: salvation, deliverance.