The Meaning of Psalms 146:9 Explained

Psalms 146:9

KJV: The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

YLT: Jehovah is preserving the strangers, The fatherless and widow He causeth to stand, And the way of the wicked He turneth upside down.

Darby: Jehovah preserveth the strangers; he lifteth up the fatherless and the widow; but the way of the wicked doth he subvert.

ASV: Jehovah preserveth the sojourners; He upholdeth the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The LORD  preserveth  the strangers;  he relieveth  the fatherless  and widow:  but the way  of the wicked  he turneth upside down. 

What does Psalms 146:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 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: Psalms 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 146:9 mean?

Yahweh watches over - the strangers the fatherless and widow He relieves but the way of the wicked He turns upside down
יְהוָ֤ה ׀ שֹׁ֘מֵ֤ר אֶת־ גֵּרִ֗ים יָת֣וֹם וְאַלְמָנָ֣ה יְעוֹדֵ֑ד וְדֶ֖רֶךְ רְשָׁעִ֣ים יְעַוֵּֽת

יְהוָ֤ה ׀  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
שֹׁ֘מֵ֤ר  watches  over 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
גֵּרִ֗ים  the  strangers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֵּר  
Sense: sojourner.
יָת֣וֹם  the  fatherless 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָתֹום  
Sense: an orphan, fatherless.
וְאַלְמָנָ֣ה  and  widow 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַלְמָנָה  
Sense: widow.
יְעוֹדֵ֑ד  He  relieves 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עוּד 
Sense: to return, repeat, go about, do again.
וְדֶ֖רֶךְ  but  the  way 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular construct
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
רְשָׁעִ֣ים  of  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
יְעַוֵּֽת  He  turns  upside  down 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָוַת  
Sense: to be bent, be crooked, bend, make crooked, pervert.