What the Bible Says About Trust

"Trust" comes 134 times in the King James Bible, each time in a different verse. Trusted, trustedst, trustest, trusteth, trusting and trusty bring it to 191 times in 188 verses, 156 in the Old Testament and 35 in the New. The first "trust" itself is Judges 9:15, in Jotham's story of the trees, where the bramble says "come and put your trust in my shadow". Trustedst and trusted come earlier, in Deuteronomy 28:52 and 32:37. 71 of the 191 are in the Psalms.

103 of the 191 stand for the Hebrew batach, which Strong's Concordance defines as "properly, to hide for refuge" and "figuratively, to trust, be confident or sure." 35 stand for chasah, "to flee for protection; figuratively, to confide in." In the New Testament 18 of the 35 stand for elpizō, "to expect or confide," and 10 for peithō, which Strong's defines in part as "to rely (by inward certainty)." Below are passages on trust, each quoted word for word with its reference. Short notes give the Hebrew and Greek words behind the English. A table near the end counts the words behind trust, and a list gives every verse where the King James text says trust or one of its forms.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart (Proverbs 3:5 and 6)

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The chapter opens "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments" (3:1). "Trust" is batach. "Lean" is sha'an, which Strong's defines as "to support one's self," and "understanding" is binah. "Acknowledge" is yada, "to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing)," and "direct" is yashar, "to be straight or even; figuratively, to be (causatively, to make) right, pleasant, prosperous." Trust and its forms come in eight more verses of Proverbs, among them 16:20, "whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he."

Commit thy way unto the LORD (Psalm 37:3 to 5)

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:3-5)

The psalm opens "Fret not thyself because of evildoers" (37:1). "Trust" in 37:3 and 37:5 is batach. "Commit" is galal, which Strong's defines as "to roll (literally or figuratively)." The KJV prints galal trusted once, in Psalm 22:8, "He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him". "Desires" is mish'alah, "a request."

Trust in him at all times (Psalm 62:8)

Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. (Psalm 62:8)

"Trust" is batach. "Pour out" is shaphak, which Strong's defines first as "to spill forth." "Refuge" is machseh, which Strong's derives from chasah and defines as "a shelter (literally or figuratively)." The KJV prints machseh trust once, in Psalm 73:28, "I have put my trust in the Lord GOD". "Selah" is selah, "suspension (of music), i.e. pause."

It is better to trust in the LORD (Psalm 118:8 and 9)

8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. (Psalm 118:8-9)

Here the two Hebrew words stand side by side. "Trust" in both verses is chasah, and "put confidence" is batach. "Man" is adam, which Strong's defines as "ruddy i.e. a human being," and "princes" is nadib, "properly, voluntary, i.e. generous" and "as noun, a grandee (sometimes a tyrant)." Psalm 146:3 has batach alone, "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help."

In him will I trust (Psalm 91:1 to 4)

1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. (Psalm 91:1-4)

"Trust" in 91:2 is batach and in 91:4 chasah, and "refuge" in 91:2 is machseh. "Secret" is sether, "a cover," and "shadow" is tsel, "shade, whether literal or figurative." "Almighty" is Shadday. "Wings" is kanaph, "an edge or extremity; specifically (of a bird or army) a wing." "Truth" is emeth, which Strong's says is "contracted from" aman and defines as "stability; (figuratively) certainty, truth, trustworthiness."

Under whose wings thou art come to trust (Ruth 2:12)

The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. (Ruth 2:12)

Boaz says it to Ruth just after telling her he has heard how she left "thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity" (2:11). "Trust" is chasah, and "wings" is kanaph, as in Psalm 91:4. "Recompense" is shalam, which Strong's defines as "to be safe (in mind, body or estate)" and "by extension, to reciprocate," and "reward" is maskoreth, "wages or a reward."

O taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8)

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8)

"Trusteth" is chasah. "Taste" is ta'am, "to taste; figuratively, to perceive." "Blessed" is ashre, which Strong's defines as "happiness; only in masculine plural construction as interjection, how happy!" "Man" is geber, "properly, a valiant man or warrior; generally, a person simply." Chasah comes again at the psalm's end, "none of them that trust in him shall be desolate" (34:22).

A strong hold in the day of trouble (Nahum 1:7)

The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)

The book opens "The burden of Nineveh" (1:1). "Trust" is chasah. "Strong hold" is ma'oz, "a fortified place; figuratively, a defence," and "trouble" is tsarah, "tightness (i.e. figuratively, trouble)." "Knoweth" is yada, the "acknowledge" of Proverbs 3:6.

Some trust in chariots (Psalm 20:7)

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)

"Trust" here stands for no Hebrew word. The translators supplied it, and printed KJVs set it in italics. "Chariots" is rekeb and "horses" sus. "Remember" is zakar, "properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by implication, to mention." The only other trust the translators supplied is "trusted" in Ephesians 1:13.

His heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD (Psalm 112:7)

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. (Psalm 112:7)

It's the only "trusting" in the KJV, and it's batach. "Tidings" is shemu'ah, "something heard, i.e. an announcement." "Fixed" is kun, which Strong's defines as "properly, to be erect (i.e. stand perpendicular); hence (causatively) to set up."

As mount Zion, which cannot be removed (Psalm 125:1)

They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. (Psalm 125:1)

"Trust" is batach. "Removed" is mot, "to waver; by implication, to slip, shake, fall," and "abideth" is yashab, "properly, to sit down" and "by implication, to dwell, to remain."

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him (Job 13:15)

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. (Job 13:15)

Job is answering Zophar, whose speech begins at Job 11:1. "Trust" is yachal, which Strong's defines as "to wait; by implication, to be patient, hope." The KJV prints yachal hope or hoped 22 times and wait, waited or waiteth 12 times, and trust only here and in Isaiah 51:5, "on mine arm shall they trust." "Slay" is qatal, "properly, to cut off, i.e. (figuratively) put to death," and "maintain" is yakach, "to be right (i.e. correct); reciprocal, to argue."

He trusted in the LORD God of Israel (2 Kings 18:5)

He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. (2 Kings 18:5)

It's said of Hezekiah, who "began to reign" in 18:1. "Trusted" is batach, and batach comes eight times in 2 Kings 18, more than in any other chapter. Seven are in what Rabshakeh says for the king of Assyria in 18:19 to 30, among them "thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt" (18:21). Isaiah 36 tells it again with batach seven times.

That trusted in him (Daniel 3:28)

Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. (Daniel 3:28)

Nebuchadnezzar says it after the three "came forth of the midst of the fire" (3:26). Daniel 3 is in Aramaic in the Hebrew Bible, and "trusted" is rechats, the one Aramaic word behind trust. Strong's says it corresponds to the Hebrew rachats, "to lave," "probably through the accessory idea of ministering as a servant at the bath," and defines it as "to attend upon." It comes nowhere else in the Bible.

That we should not trust in ourselves (2 Corinthians 1:9 and 10)

9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; (2 Corinthians 1:9-10)

The verses follow "our trouble which came to us in Asia" (1:8). "Trust" in 1:9 is peithō, and "we trust" in 1:10 is elpizō, so the two Greek words behind most of the New Testament's trust stand a verse apart. "Sentence" is apokrima, "a judicial decision," and it comes nowhere else in the New Testament. "Raiseth" is egeirō, "to waken (transitively or intransitively), i.e. rouse."

Nor trust in uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17)

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (1 Timothy 6:17)

"Trust" is elpizō. "Highminded" is hupsēlophroneō, "to be lofty in mind, i.e. arrogant." "Uncertain" is adēlotēs, which Strong's defines as "uncertainty," and it comes nowhere else in the New Testament. "Riches" is ploutos, "wealth (as fulness)." The money page quotes verses 6 to 8 and 10 of the same chapter.

The words behind trust

The KJV says trust or one of its forms 191 times. Counted by their Strong's numbers, the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words in this table stand behind 189 of them. The other two, in Psalm 20:7 and Ephesians 1:13, stand for no word in the Hebrew or the Greek.

Batach and chasah are 138 of the 156 in the Old Testament. Elpizō and peithō are 28 of the 35 in the New.

Every place the KJV says trust

Trust or one of its forms comes in these 188 verses.

• Deuteronomy 28:52, 32:37
• Judges 9:15, 11:20, 20:36
• Ruth 2:12
• 2 Samuel 22:3, 22:31
• 2 Kings 18:5, 18:19, 18:20, 18:21, 18:22, 18:24, 18:30, 19:10
• 1 Chronicles 5:20
• 2 Chronicles 32:10
• Job 4:18, 8:14, 12:20, 13:15, 15:15, 15:31, 35:14, 39:11, 40:23
• Psalms 2:12, 4:5, 5:11, 7:1, 9:10, 11:1, 13:5, 16:1, 17:7, 18:2, 18:30, 20:7, 21:7, 22:4, 22:5, 22:8, 25:2, 25:20, 26:1, 28:7, 31:1, 31:6, 31:14, 31:19, 32:10, 33:21, 34:8, 34:22, 36:7, 37:3, 37:5, 37:40, 40:3, 40:4, 41:9, 44:6, 49:6, 52:7, 52:8, 55:23, 56:3, 56:4, 56:11, 57:1, 61:4, 62:8, 62:10, 64:10, 71:1, 71:5, 73:28, 78:22, 84:12, 86:2, 91:2, 91:4, 112:7, 115:8, 115:9, 115:10, 115:11, 118:8, 118:9, 119:42, 125:1, 135:18, 141:8, 143:8, 144:2, 146:3
• Proverbs 3:5, 11:28, 16:20, 22:19, 28:25, 28:26, 29:25, 30:5, 31:11
• Isaiah 12:2, 14:32, 26:3, 26:4, 30:2, 30:3, 30:12, 31:1, 36:4, 36:5, 36:6, 36:7, 36:9, 36:15, 37:10, 42:17, 47:10, 50:10, 51:5, 57:13, 59:4
• Jeremiah 5:17, 7:4, 7:8, 7:14, 9:4, 12:5, 13:25, 17:5, 17:7, 28:15, 29:31, 39:18, 46:25, 48:7, 49:4, 49:11
• Ezekiel 16:15, 33:13
• Daniel 3:28
• Hosea 10:13
• Amos 6:1
• Micah 7:5
• Nahum 1:7
• Habakkuk 2:18
• Zephaniah 3:2, 3:12
• Matthew 12:21, 27:43
• Mark 10:24
• Luke 11:22, 16:11, 18:9, 24:21
• John 5:45
• Romans 15:12, 15:24
• 1 Corinthians 16:7
• 2 Corinthians 1:9, 1:10, 1:13, 3:4, 5:11, 10:7, 13:6
• Ephesians 1:12, 1:13
• Philippians 2:19, 2:24, 3:4
• 1 Thessalonians 2:4
• 1 Timothy 1:11, 4:10, 5:5, 6:17, 6:20
• Philemon 1:22
• Hebrews 2:13, 13:18
• 1 Peter 3:5
• 2 John 1:12
• 3 John 1:14

Trust on the other pages

Some of the best-known verses on trust are quoted on the site's other pages. Psalm 56:3 and Proverbs 29:25 are on the fear page, Isaiah 26:3 is on the peace page and Jeremiah 17:7 is on the worry page. Psalm 28:7 and Isaiah 12:2 are on the strength page.

Worry, fear, grief, strength, love, forgiveness, hope, peace, anger, pride, temptation, wisdom, joy, thanksgiving and money

Worry, fear, grief, strength, love, forgiveness, hope, peace, anger, pride, temptation, wisdom, joy, thanksgiving and money have pages of their own. They're What the Bible Says About Worry, What the Bible Says About Fear, What the Bible Says About Grief, What the Bible Says About Strength, What the Bible Says About Love, What the Bible Says About Forgiveness, What the Bible Says About Hope, What the Bible Says About Peace, What the Bible Says About Anger, What the Bible Says About Pride, What the Bible Says About Temptation, What the Bible Says About Wisdom, What the Bible Says About Joy, What the Bible Says About Thanksgiving and What the Bible Says About Money. Every chapter quoted here can be read whole in Read the Bible.

How this page was made

Every verse is quoted from the 1769 standard text of the King James Version and checked word for word against two more digital copies. The printed KJV sets supplied words in italics, which this page doesn't show. Verse numbers follow the KJV. Hebrew Bibles number 37 verses named here differently. 36 are in the Psalms, where Hebrew Bibles number a psalm's title with its verses, so each is a verse or two higher there. Psalm 62:8 is 62:9, and Psalm 52:7 and 52:8 are 52:9 and 52:10. The other is Jeremiah 9:4, which is 9:3 there.

Hebrew and Aramaic words were identified with the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible. Greek words were identified with STEPBible's tagged Greek New Testament. The counts of the words behind trust come from the Strong's numbers in the CrossWire Bible Society's KJV, each checked against the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible or STEPBible's Greek. Greek counts follow the Textus Receptus as STEPBible gives it. Every Greek word the notes cite in a quoted verse stands in all eight Greek editions STEPBible compares. Some quoted words don't. "Living" in 1 Timothy 6:17 and "to us" in the 2 Corinthians 1:8 phrase stand only in the Textus Receptus and the Byzantine text, and "doth deliver" in 2 Corinthians 1:10 is a present tense in those two and a future in the other six. The notes cite no Greek for any of them. STEPBible is a Tyndale House Cambridge project. STEPBible's data and the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible are both shared under CC BY 4.0. The definitions come from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). If you find a mistake, tell us through the support page.

About Patmos

Patmos is an AI Bible study companion for iPhone, free to download. Take a photo of a page in your Bible or type a reference. John, the app's AI, reads the passage with you and answers your questions. He can be wrong, so check what he says against your Bible.

Where Patmos stands