Why read Psalm 20?
Psalm 20 is a prayer of thanksgiving for help and blessings received. The king's joy in God's support becomes an invitation to recognize His gifts and respond with praise.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
Psalm 20 — “Lord, in Your power the king will...” — is the prayer through which the Psalmist places the experience of an entire hour of life before God. It belongs to the 3rd Kathisma and has 14 verses, which you will find in full below.
The text of Psalm 20
1. Lord, in Your power the king will rejoice, and in Your salvation he will be exceedingly glad.
2. You gave him according to his heart’s desire and did not deprive him of his lips’ wish.
3. For You met him with the blessings of goodness and set upon his head a crown of precious stone.
4. He asked You for life, and You gave him length of days unto the ages of ages.
5. Great is his glory in Your salvation; glory and great majesty You will place upon him.
6. For You will give him blessing unto the ages of ages; You will gladden him with joy before Your face.
7. For the king hopes in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he will not be shaken.
8. Let Your hand find all Your enemies; let Your right hand find all who hate You.
9. You will make them like a fiery furnace at the time of Your appearing;
10. The Lord in His wrath will trouble them, and fire will devour them.
11. Their fruit You will destroy from the earth, and their offspring from among the sons of men.
12. For they devised evil against You and thought up plans that will not be able to stand.
13. For You will put them to flight, and with Your bow You will aim at their heads.
14. Rise, Lord, in Your might; we shall sing and praise Your powers.
When Psalm 20 is read
- It belongs to the 3rd Kathisma and is read in the Psalter’s order at services; the faithful read it during fasts and in times of need.
- At the end of each psalm, tradition adds: «Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.».
Adjacent psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
