Psalm 12:6-7 שָׁמַר (shamar)

In Psalm 12:6–7, we encounter a rich Hebrew expression that has caused much theological debate. Let’s examine the Hebrew word translated "keep" in verse 7.

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📜 Psalm 12:6–7 (KJV):

6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

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📌 Hebrew Text:

Psalm 12:7 in Hebrew (Masoretic Text):

אַתָּה יְהוָה תִּשְׁמְרֵם, תִּצְּרֵנּוּ מִן־הַדּוֹר זֻלָּה לְעוֹלָם

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🧠 Word Study: “Keep” — תִּשְׁמְרֵם (tishmerem)

🔤 Root: שָׁמַר (shamar)

• Strong's Concordance: H8104

• Part of Speech: Verb (Qal imperfect, 2ms + 3mp suffix)

• Form: "You will keep them"

💡 Basic Meaning of שָׁמַר (shamar):

• To keep, guard, watch over, preserve, protect

• Often used of careful guarding, like a shepherd watches his flock, or like keeping commandments.

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🎯 In Context: Who or What is Being Kept?

This is where interpretation differs. The pronoun "them" (תִּשְׁמְרֵם) must refer to something, and scholars have proposed two main possibilities:

– It most naturally means:

• God will guard or preserve either:

  • His people (the poor/needy/righteous)

  • Or metaphorically, His words/promises

• 📚 Grammatically:

• The noun "words" (אמרות imrot) is feminine plural

• The suffix -ם (-em) in תִּשְׁמְרֵם is masculine plural

So, some argue this does not grammatically match the feminine “words,” suggesting it more likely refers to the people (like the "needy" and "oppressed" from earlier verses). But Hebrew syntax is sometimes flexible, so a minority still maintain it could refer to “words.”

But based on the pattern of usage:

• Shamar in Davidic Psalms often refers to God protecting His people (cf. Psalm 121:7).

• Psalm 121:7

  “The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.”

  • Hebrew: יִשְׁמָרְךָ (yishmarekha)

  • A very strong usage — preservation from danger and evil.

• There's no clear case where shamar is used to mean “preserve Scripture in perfect textual form.”

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✅ Summary of "Keep" — שָׁמַר (shamar)

• Hebrew word: תִּשְׁמְרֵם (tishmerem)

• Root meaning: to guard, protect, preserve, or watch over carefully

• Used for: God's guarding of His people, His covenant, or His commandments

• In this context: God is guarding His His people (the poor and needy) from wicked oppressors

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🧭 Theological Implication:

Psalm 12:7 is not a prooftext for the doctrine of a perfectly preserved Bible text (as some advocates of Verbal Plenary Preservation argue). The most natural reading in context is that God will guard and protect the righteous from a corrupt generation, not the preservation of manuscripts.

✅ Conclusion

The Hebrew word "keep" in Psalm 12:7 — תִּשְׁמְרֵם from שָׁמַר — conveys active protection, guarding, or preserving, most often applied to people, not text. The context of Psalm 12 fits this usage well: God promises to watch over the righteous in a corrupt world.

This does not support the idea of a perfectly preserved text or manuscript — it is a promise of God's protection of His people, consistent with the rest of Scripture.

"The same God who refines His words like silver (v.6) shields His people with those very promises."

The list of שָׁמַר (shamar) in the Book of Psalm:

Ps 12:7

You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.

Ps 16:1

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

Ps 17:4

With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

Ps 17:8

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,

Ps 18:21

For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

Ps 18:23

I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.

Ps 19:11

Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Ps 25:20

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

Ps 31:6

I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord.

Ps 34:20

He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Ps 37:28

For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

Ps 37:34

Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

Ps 37:37

Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

Ps 39:1

I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

Ps 41:2

the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.

Ps 56:6

They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.

Ps 59:title

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

Ps 59:9

O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress.

Ps 63:6

when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

Ps 71:10

For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together

Ps 75:8

For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

Ps 77:4

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Ps 78:10

They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.

Ps 78:56

Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies,

Ps 86:2

Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

Ps 89:28

My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.

Ps 89:31

if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,

Ps 90:4

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

Ps 91:11

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Ps 97:10

O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Ps 99:7

In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them.

Ps 103:18

to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

Ps 105:45

that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!

Ps 106:3

Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!

Ps 107:43

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Ps 116:6

The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.

Ps 119:4

You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.

Ps 119:5

Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!

Ps 119:8

I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

Ps 119:9

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

Ps 119:17

Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.

Ps 119:34

Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.

Ps 119:44

I will keep your law continually, forever and ever,

Ps 119:55

I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law.

Ps 119:57

The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words.

Ps 119:60

I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.

Ps 119:63

I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts.

Ps 119:67

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.

Ps 119:88

In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.

Ps 119:101

I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.

Ps 119:106

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.

Ps 119:134

Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts.

Ps 119:136

My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

Ps 119:146

I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.

Ps 119:148

My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.

Ps 119:158

I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.

Ps 119:167

My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly.

Ps 119:168

I keep your precepts and testimonies, for all my ways are before you.

Ps 121:3

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

Ps 121:4

Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Ps 121:5

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

Ps 121:7

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

Ps 121:8

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Ps 127:1

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

Ps 130:3

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

Ps 130:6

my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Ps 132:12

If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.”

Ps 140:4

Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.

Ps 141:3

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

Ps 141:9

Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!

Ps 145:20

The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

Ps 146:6

who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;

Ps 146:9

The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.