Psalm 23 (KJV) — “The LORD Is My Shepherd”
The full King James text of the best-known psalm in the Bible, ready to read or print, followed by a verse-by-verse explanation of the shepherd, the dark valley, and the table set before enemies.
Psalm 23, King James Version
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4Yea, 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.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
King James Version — public domain. biblegarden.net/psalms-23
Psalm 23, Verse by Verse
The psalm holds two pictures. For four verses God is a shepherd and the psalmist is a sheep; then the scene changes, and God is a host setting a table. Both say the same thing from different angles — that the one being cared for is not the one doing the work.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want
Everything in the psalm follows from this one claim. David does not say the LORD is like a shepherd but that he is one — and the consequence is immediate: to be kept by such a shepherd is to lack nothing. The same image runs through Scripture, from “we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3) to Jesus taking it for himself in John 10:11.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters
Both verbs belong to the shepherd, not the sheep. Sheep will not lie down while they are hungry or afraid, and they will not drink from water that runs fast; the shepherd is the one who finds the pasture and the quiet pool. The picture is of provision that arrives before the need is voiced.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake
The sheep can be brought back as well as fed. And the reason given for the leading is not the worth of the sheep but the honour of the shepherd — “for his name’s sake.” The security of the psalm rests on God's character rather than the believer's performance.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me
The psalm turns here, and so does its grammar: David stops speaking about the shepherd and starts speaking to him — “thou art with me.” The valley is not avoided but walked through, and the fear is answered not by an explanation but by a presence.
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
A shepherd's two tools: one to drive off what threatens the flock, one to guide and recover it. That they comfort rather than intimidate says how the sheep understands the hand that holds them.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over
The imagery shifts from pasture to banquet hall — God as host rather than shepherd. The enemies are still there; they are simply no longer in charge of the scene. The guest is anointed and served, and the cup is not merely filled but overfilled.
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
Goodness and mercy follow — the word is one of pursuit, as though what usually hunts a man has been replaced. The psalm that opened in a field closes indoors and permanently: the sheep that was led at last comes home and stays.
The Shepherd Who Wrote It
The King James Version heads the psalm “A Psalm of David,” and the image at its centre was David’s own trade. When Samuel arrived at Jesse’s house to anoint a king, the son who would be chosen was not in the room — he was out with the flock. The man who wrote “The LORD is my shepherd” had done the shepherd’s work himself, and knew exactly what he was claiming God does for him.
Related Verses on the Shepherd
Five passages that pick up the image of Psalm 23 — where it comes from, and where the rest of Scripture takes it.
Jesus takes the psalm's opening image and applies it to himself, then adds what Psalm 23 never says: the shepherd dies for the sheep.
John 10:11The same picture made congregational — not “my shepherd” but a whole people who are the sheep of his pasture.
Psalms 100:3The shepherd of Psalm 23 gathering the weakest of the flock: lambs carried in his arms, and the slow ones gently led.
Isaiah 40:11God's answer to shepherds who fed themselves instead of the flock — he will come and search out the sheep himself.
Ezekiel 34:11Where the psalm ends up: the Lamb becomes the shepherd, the still waters become living fountains, and every tear is wiped away.
Revelation 7:17Recommended reading
Study Bibles & devotionals
Go deeper than a single verse. These study Bibles and daily devotionals pair well with the topics here — adding context, commentary, and a rhythm for daily reading.
ESV Study Bible
Crossway
Over 20,000 study notes, maps, and articles — the go-to one-volume study Bible for understanding scripture in context.
Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
Tyndale / Zondervan
Notes that connect each passage to everyday life — ideal alongside the topical verses on this page.
Jesus Calling
Sarah Young
A year of short daily devotions written as if Jesus is speaking — a gentle companion to daily scripture reading.
My Utmost for His Highest
Oswald Chambers
The classic daily devotional — 365 readings that have shaped Christian devotion for over a century.
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Read More Psalms
Psalm 23 is one of 150. Browse the Book of Psalms for the rest — including Psalm 91, Psalm 46, and Psalm 139 — gather more scripture for a hard season in our Bible verses about comfort collection, or browse every subject in the Topics index.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Psalm 23 about?
Psalm 23 is about God's care for one person, told through two pictures. In the first, God is a shepherd who feeds, waters, restores, and leads his sheep, and who walks with them through the valley of the shadow of death so that they need not fear. In the second, God is a host who spreads a table in front of the psalmist's enemies, anoints his head with oil, and fills his cup to overflowing. Its six verses move from a field to a banquet to a home, ending with the promise that goodness and mercy will follow him all his life and that he will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
What does it mean “the Lord is my shepherd”?
In the King James Version, Psalm 23:1 reads “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” To call God a shepherd is to say he takes personal responsibility for a defenceless creature that cannot feed, guide, or protect itself — and the second half of the verse states the result: the sheep lacks nothing. The word “my” makes the claim individual rather than abstract. Scripture uses the image repeatedly: Israel is “the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3), God is the “Shepherd of Israel” (Psalm 80:1), and Jesus applies the title to himself in John 10:11 — “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”
What does “the valley of the shadow of death” mean?
It is the darkest stretch of the sheep's journey — the place of deepest danger — and the psalm's point is that the shepherd goes through it rather than around it. David says “though I walk through the valley,” not into it: it is a passage, not a destination. Notice that this is exactly where he stops describing God and starts addressing him: “for thou art with me.” The fear is answered by company, not by an escape route. Because of this verse the psalm has long been read in hospitals, at deathbeds, and at funerals, though the valley in the KJV covers any place of mortal shadow, not only dying itself.
Who wrote Psalm 23?
The King James Version heads the psalm “A Psalm of David,” and it has been read as David's ever since. The shepherd image would have been his own: when Samuel came to anoint him, David was the youngest son, out “keeping the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11). The psalm is the work of a man who had done the shepherd's job himself and then wrote about being on the other end of it.
How long is Psalm 23 and how do I memorise it?
Psalm 23 is six verses — under 120 words in the King James Version, which is a large part of why it is the most memorised passage in the Psalter. It is easiest to learn in the order the pictures arrive: the shepherd and his sheep (verse 1), rest and water (verse 2), restoring and leading (verse 3), the dark valley, the rod and the staff (verse 4), the table, the oil, the overflowing cup (verse 5), and goodness, mercy, and the house of the LORD (verse 6). You can print the full KJV text from this page to carry or post somewhere you will see it.