Psalm 118:6
The Lord Is My Helper
Wording onlyQuoted by the apostles in Hebrews 13:6, in the older Greek wording
Hebrews borrows a line of courage from the Psalms, in words your Psalm does not use.
Side by Side
The Older Text
Septuagint, translated before Messiah
The Lord is my helper; and I will not fear what man shall do to me.
The Later Text
Masoretic, finished about 1,000 years after the cross
Yahuah is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Quoted in Hebrews 13:6
The apostle’s Old Testament
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Your KJV reads: the Hebrew “on my side” in the Psalm, and the Greek “my helper” in Hebrews.
See what changed and why ↓What Your Bible Says
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Hebrews 13:5–6 KJV
Hebrews tells believers to be content, because Yahuah will not leave them. Then it gives them a Psalm to say out loud.
What the Psalm Says
Yahuah is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Psalm 118:6 KJV
The Hebrew is short and strong: Yahuah is for me. The Psalm asks a question, “what can man do unto me?”
What Changed
The Greek says “my helper” where the Hebrew says “on my side.” Hebrews quotes the Greek. The KJV reads the end of the Greek line as a plain statement, though the same Greek words can also be read as a question, as in the Psalm.
The word “helper” is not foreign to the Psalm. The very next verse says, “Yahuah taketh my part with them that help me” (Psalm 118:7).
The Torah Behind It
The promise just before the quote, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” echoes Moses speaking to Israel in the Torah: “he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Hebrews gives the believer the same courage the Law gave Israel.
Purpose of the Change
No motive evident: wording variation only. It matters because Hebrews quoted the Greek wording, which is why your KJV says “on my side” in one place and “my helper” in the other.
The Bottom Line
Yahuah is on my side, and Yahuah is my helper. The apostle quoted the Greek, and both are true.
Messiah gives the same courage at the end: “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer … be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it
The Name Behind “Lord”
Where Hebrews says “The Lord,” the Psalm says Yahuah. The Greek put the word for “Lord” in place of the Name, and the apostle used the Bible his readers had. The helper is Yahuah Himself.
An Honest Note
The Greek says “my helper” in both verse 6 and verse 7. The Hebrew uses the word “help” only in verse 7. The translators seem to have let the next line shape the first. No Hebrew letters were changed.