Psalms 30:3
in Psalms 30O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol; You spared me from descending into the Pit.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
KJV
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
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This verse in Psalms 30
Commentary
12 notes on this verseNo one is able to exalt God unless God has lifted him up. For we are lifted up on high through the cross of Christ, who said, "When I will have been lifted up, I will draw all to me." We exalt the Lord who himself exalted the Father, and as much as he has been in him, he shows the Father to the ones who believe. He teaches that there are certain invisible enemies of the human spirit who envy the salvation handed over to them by God.
This site's exposition
I will exalt You, O LORD
on Psalms 30:1-3
The rescue is already done: lifted up, healed, pulled up from Sheol. The Pit beside it is the grave, and the psalm says God spared him from going down into it. The man who sings was close to death.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"O Lord, You have brought back My Soul from hell, and You have saved Me from them that go down into the pit" [Psalm 30:3]. You have saved Me from the condition of profound darkness, and the lowest slough of corruptible flesh.
"O Lord, You have brought back My Soul from hell, and You have saved Me from them that go down into the pit" [Psalm 30:3]. You have saved Me from the condition of profound darkness, and the lowest slough of corruptible flesh.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Next he says he was delivered from exterior evils: "O Lord, you have brought up." And first from those that were imminent. Second from those from which he was preserved, at "You have saved." He says therefore, "O Lord, you have brought up," etc. This …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The more imminent our dangers have been, the more eminent our deliverances have been, the more comfortable are they to ourselves and the more illustrious proofs of the power and goodness of God.
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave,....
5 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave. Mark, it is not "I hope so; "but it is, "Thou hast; thou hast; thou hast" —three times over. David is quite sure, beyond a doubt, that God has done great things for him, whereof he is exceeding glad. He had descended to the brink of the sepulchre, and yet was restored to tell of the forbearance of God; nor was this all, he owned that nothing but grace had kept him from the lowest hell, and this made him doubly thankful.
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave. Mark, it is not "I hope so; "but it is, "Thou hast; thou hast; thou hast" —three times over. David is quite sure, beyond a doubt, that God has done great things for him, whereof he is exceeding glad. He had descended to the brink of the sepulchre, and yet was restored to tell of the forbearance of God; nor was this all, he owned that nothing but grace had kept him from the lowest hell, and this made him doubly thankful. To be spared from the grave is much; to be delivered from the pit is more; hence there is growing cause for praise, since both deliverances are alone traceable to the glorious right hand of the Lord, who is the only preserver of life, and the only Redeemer of our souls from hell.
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave. Mark, it is not "I hope so; "but it is, "Thou hast; thou hast; thou hast" —three times over. David is quite sure, beyond a doubt, that God has done great things for him, whereof he is exceeding glad. He had descended to the brink of the sepulchre, and yet was restored to tell of the forbearance of God; nor was this all, he owned that nothing but grace had kept him from the lowest hell, and this made him doubly thankful.
Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave - I and my people were both about to be cut off, but thou hast spared us in mercy, and given us a most glorious respite.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
O, Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave - My life; me. The meaning is, that he had been in imminent danger of death, and had been brought from the borders of the grave. The word here rendered “grave” is “Sheol” - a word which, properly used, commonly denotes the region of the dead; the underworld which is entered through the grave. Compare Isa 14:9, note; Psa 6:5, note. Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit - More literally, “thou hast caused me to live from them which go down to the pit;” that is, thou hast distinguished me from them by keeping me alive. The word “pit” here means the same as the grave. See the notes at Psa 28:1.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
I will exalt You, O Lord, for You have raised me up Heb. דליתני, You have lifted me on high.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְֽהוָ֗ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הֶֽעֱלִ֣יתָ | heelita | you brought up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| שְׁא֣וֹל | sheol | Sheol | H7585 → | 66 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֑י | nafshi | life my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| חִ֝יִּיתַ֗נִי | chiyitani | you preserved alive me | H2421 → | 282 times |
| מִיָּֽרְדִי | miyordei- | from going down my | H3381 → | 381 times |
| בֽוֹר׃ | vor | [the] pit | H953 → | 66 times |
יְֽהוָ֗הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הֶֽעֱלִ֣יתָyou brought up
heelitaH5927 →890 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
שְׁא֣וֹלSheol
sheolH7585 →66 times
נַפְשִׁ֑יlife my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
חִ֝יִּיתַ֗נִיyou preserved alive me
chiyitaniH2421 →282 times
מִיָּֽרְדִיfrom going down my
miyordei-H3381 →381 times
בֽוֹר׃[the] pit
vorH953 →66 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 16:10For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
it leads to
- Acts 2:27–31
because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
- Acts 13:35–38
So also, He says in another Psalm: ‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’
- Psalms 49:15
But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah
- Revelation 1:18
the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
- Acts 2:27–31
Through
Psalms 28:1To You, O LORD, I call; be not deaf to me, O my Rock. For if You remain silent, I will be like those descending to the Pit.
it leads to
- Psalms 143:7
Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
- Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- Psalms 88:4–6
I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength.
- Psalms 143:7
Through
Psalms 86:13For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.
it leads to
- Psalms 103:8–12
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
- Psalms 103:8–12
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 30; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, SELECTIONS FROM THE PSALMS 30:2 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.