Psalm 23

5 songs checked against Psalm 23. Each proof shows the passage, what the song does with it, and whether you can sing it. Read the whole chapter: Bible Gateway ↗ · Bible Hub ↗

Psalm 23:1-3 · “Psalm 23” · Poor Bishop Hooper

~ FAITHFUL “Psalm 23” Poor Bishop Hooper Psalm 23:1-3 Sing it. It is Psalm 23 in order in the duo's own words, valley and enemies included. No translation is named, and verse 2's quiet waters, verse 3's restored soul, and verse 4's for-You-are-with-me are not in it.

✓ All six verses in order: the valley, the enemies and the pursuit stay attached to the green-pasture comfort, so the psalm keeps its hard parts

⚠ No translation is named, and the free wording still has a source: at four points it follows the modern HCSB/CSB renderings rather than the King James tradition, so the song descends from a real Bible the listener is never pointed to

Psalm 23:1-6 · “Psalm 23” · The Corner Room (Adam Wright)

✓ VERIFIED “Psalm 23” The Corner Room (Adam Wright) Psalm 23:1-6 Sing it without a caveat. It is the whole psalm, in order, in a named translation, so what you memorize by repeating it is the text itself.

✓ Every word of the psalm, in order: nothing added, dropped, or reordered

✓ no cautions: this is the standard

Psalm 23:4 · “You Never Let Go” · Matt Redman

~ FAITHFUL “You Never Let Go” Matt Redman Psalm 23:4 Sing it. The first line is Psalm 23:4 word for word in modern-translation wording, and the rest is the Redmans' own writing. No translation is named, so the quotation has to be recognised rather than looked up.

✓ The opening clause is Psalm 23:4's own words, exactly as the BSB and the WEB render them, with nothing added or dropped inside it

⚠ No translation is named. The opening matches the BSB and the WEB exactly and does not match the KJV, which begins "Yea, though I walk", so whether the line registers as a quotation depends on which Bible the listener grew up with

Psalm 23:5 · “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” · UPPERROOM (feat. Elyssa Smith)

NOT A QUOTE “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” UPPERROOM (feat. Elyssa Smith) Psalm 23:5 Sing it. Nothing is quoted, and nothing it repeats contradicts the texts behind it. The writer says what fights the battle is the table God set. Sing it knowing what it points to.

✓ The paradox it loops is really in the text: the table of Psalm 23:5 is set in the presence of enemies, not after their removal

⚠ The You is never named inside the lyric. Reviewers have criticised exactly this; the singer supplies the referent, so supply it deliberately

Psalm 23:6 · “Goodness of God” · Bethel Music (Jenn Johnson)

NOT A QUOTE “Goodness of God” Bethel Music (Jenn Johnson) Psalm 23:6 Sing it. Nothing here is quoting, and the pursuing-goodness image is genuinely Psalm 23:6. Read the whole psalm, though, because that line is spoken by someone who has just come through the valley.

✓ The pursuit image is genuinely Psalm 23:6, and rendering it as active chase is closer to the Hebrew verb than the usual English "follow"

⚠ Psalm 23:6 is the conclusion of a psalm that includes the valley of the shadow of death and a table set in front of enemies. The song's evidence is a remembered life of faithfulness instead

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