Verse
VERSE

Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

New King James Version

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What Does It Mean that God Is Our Shepherd?

One of the most treasured passages in the Bible is Psalm 23, where we learn that God is our shepherd, Jehovah-Raah. A shepherd lives with his sheep and cares for their every need, night and day. In fact, his own well-being is tied up with theirs, since they are his livelihood. He nourishes them, leads them to pasture, and gives them a safe place to rest. He seeks and finds them when they are lost and gently carries them back to rejoin the flock.

A good shepherd makes sure that his sheep have everything they need: fresh grass to graze on, protection from fears and dangers, clean, still water to drink, and a safe place to rest. Sheep won’t even graze or lie down if they are fearful or distraught, so a shepherd has to make sure that their emotional needs as well as their physical needs are met.

God does all of this and more for us. Jesus said that he is our Good Shepherd (John 10). He is the one about whom Isaiah wrote, “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11 ESV).

He fulfills all the promises of what a Good Shepherd does for his sheep in Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34:11-24.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11 ESV)

God searches for us when we are lost and rescues and cares for all our needs. He is gentle and kind with us. He bandages our wounds. He marks out the path ahead of us and hems us in behind so we won’t stray from the straight and narrow road of salvation. He guards the door of the sheep pen so that not one of his people is stolen away.

He even gave his life so that we could be saved, because he is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). We have nothing to fear because the Good Shepherd takes care of us.

by Nancy Taylor and Phil Ryken in their Book Is God Real? 

Compare Versions

ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

CSB

The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need.

NLT

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

NIV

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

KJV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

NKJV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Videos

Infographic

"In Pastures Green"

We thought you would enjoy this beautiful reflection on Psalm 23 by Henry H. Barry, so we made a graphic that you can save, share, or use on your phone as your wallpaper!

Image

The LORD is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.

PSALM 23:1 NLT
Video: 4 Min
by The Psalms Project and Bethany John
Quote

The Incredible Power of Psalm 23

David has left no sweeter Psalm than the short twenty-third. It has charmed more griefs to rest than all the philosophy of the world... It has comforted the noble host of the poor. It has sung courage to the army of the disappointed. It has poured balm and consolation into the heart of the sick, of captives in dungeons, of widows in their pinching griefs, of orphans in their loneliness.

Dying soldiers have died easier as it was read to them; ghastly hospitals have been illuminated; it has visited the prisoner and broken his chains, and, like Peter’s angel, led him forth in imagination, and sung him back to his home again…

Nor is its work done. It will go on singing to your children and my children, and to their children, through all the generations of time; nor will it fold its wings till the last pilgrim is safe, and time ended; and then it shall fly back to the bosom of God, whence it issued, and sound on, mingled with all those sounds of celestial joy which make heaven musical forever.

by Henry Ward Beecher | Source

Contemporary

Psalm 23

by Psallo Collective
Message: 33 Min

Living with

Confidence
in God

by H.B. Charles Jr.

Praise & Worship

The Lord’s My Shepherd

by Stuart Townend and Keith & Krisyn Getty
Image

Lord, I know that
people’s lives are not their own;
it is not for them
to direct their steps.

JEREMIAH 10:23 ESV
Article: 7 Min

Two Ways of Life

by David Powlison at The Gospel Coalition

Contemporary

Lead Me On

by Audrey Assad

Hymns

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

by 4Him

Chill & Relaxing

Come Away from Rush and Hurry

by Kara Young feat. Caleb Fincher
Verse
PSALM 100:3 NIV

Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Verse
Isaiah 40:10-12 ESV

Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

by John Broom, 2 Min

Hymns

The King of Love My Shepherd Is

by Koiné

Praise & Worship

Shepherd

by Overflow Worship

Hymns

King of the Despairing

by Will Carlisle
Message: 22 Min

How to Pray

Psalm 23

by Matt Chandler

Article: 5 Min

He Will Restore Your Soul

by Jon Bloom at Desiring God

Verse
EZEKIEL 34:11 ESV

For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

Message: 40 Min

Resting in

Your Shepherd’s Care

by Sean Cordell

70’s | 80’s | 90’s

The Lord Is My Shepherd (23rd Psalm)

by Keith Green
Image

Even
though
I walk through
the valley
of the shadow
of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are 
with me

Psalm 23:4 ESV

Pop

The War

by Leeland
Verse
EZEKIEL 34:13-14 ESV

And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

Praise & Worship

Lavish

by Big Daddy Weave and Francesca Battistelli
Verse
EZEKIEL 34:15-17 ESV

I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Pop

The Valley

by Cape Lions
Quote

You think, dear heart,
that you are forgotten,
because of your
nothingness and weakness
and poverty.
This is the very reason
why you are remembered.

Charles Spurgeon
Article: 10 Min

Seven Ways Christ Is the Good Shepherd

by Colin Smith at Open the Bible

Verse

I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd 
lays down his life
for the sheep.
 

JESUS, JOHN 10:11 NIV

Praise & Worship

Highlands (Song of Ascent)

by The Worship Initiative feat. John Marc Kohl
Verse

JOHN 10

Discover that Jesus is the good shepherd.
Verse
ISAIAH 53:5-7 NKJV

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace 
was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all. 
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

Verse
HEBREWS 13:20-21 CSB

Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Message: 36 Min

The Shepherd,

the Host, and
the Highway Patrol

by John Piper

Hymns

Good Shepherd of My Soul

by Keith & Kristyn Getty
Quote

God is not only
our good shepherd,
nor only our
lavish host;
he is also a
highway patrolman, 
pursuing you with

goodness and mercy
every day of your life,
and he is fast.

John Piper

Praise & Worship

Psalm 23 (Surely Goodness, Surely Mercy)

by Shane & Shane
Article: 35 Min

The Overflowing Cup

by Charles Spurgeon at The Spurgeon Center

Electronic Dance Music

House of the Lord

by Hyper Fenton and Moflo Music
Verse
REVELATION 7:15-17 NIV

Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Books