---
title: Psalms 146:3
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/psalms-146-3/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/psalms-146-3.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Psalms 146:3
testament: OT
section: Poetry
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Psalms 146:3

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "Do not put your trust in princes Nor in a son of man, who cannot bring salvation."

## JW Usage

Psalm 146:3 receives general devotional treatment in JW publications: trust in Jehovah, not in human authorities or political leaders. The verse fits the JW posture of political neutrality and the broader Watchtower critique of Christendom's entanglement with secular powers. The verse is rarely turned inward to test trust placed in the Governing Body.

## Protestant Usage

Hold Psalm 146:3 up against the Berean test of Acts 17:11. The Bereans were praised for verifying apostolic teaching against Scripture; they did not put unconditional trust in Paul's words. Pair Psalm 146:3 with Jeremiah 17:5 ("cursed is the man who trusts in mankind") and 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (Scripture makes the man of God "fully competent, completely equipped"). The Watchtower's claim that Witnesses cannot understand the Bible without Governing Body interpretation is the very kind of "trust in princes" Psalm 146 warns against. The shift from "trust in Jehovah" to "trust in Jehovah's organisation" is small in language but enormous in practice — and it places between the believer and the Father exactly the human mediation Psalm 146:3 forbids.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Berean Test — Scripture Is Sufficient Without an Organisation](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/berean-test-scripture-sufficiency.md) — Acts 17:11 / 2 Timothy 3:16-17 / Matthew 15:9 / 1 Corinthians 4:6 [Authority]