Psalms 38:15
in Psalms 38I wait for You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For in thee, O Jehovah, do I hope: Thou wilt answer, O Lord my God.
KJV
For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
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This verse in Psalms 38
Commentary
3 notes on this verseon Psalms 38:15-16
(Verse 15, 16.) David overcame his adversaries by remaining silent: and because he became like a mute, he received his voice; for when he turned to the Lord, he spoke, saying: Because I have hoped in you, Lord: you will hear me, Lord, my God. Because I have said, lest my enemies rejoice over me. Consider each detail: David was silent, the enemies spoke, they provoked him to speak. They said: Let us hear your voice. Within himself, he spoke silently: What need is there for them to hear these things, which cannot benefit them?
This site's exposition
I wait for You
on Psalms 38:15-17
The silence of the verses before rests on this waiting for the LORD to answer. He asks to be heard before his enemies can gloat over a slipping foot. He is ready to fall, and the pain never leaves.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
David committed himself to him that judgeth righteously, and so in patience was able to possess his soul. Hope in God's intervention, and belief in the power of prayer, are two most blessed stays to the soul in time of adversity. Turning right away from the creature to the sovereign Lord of all, and to him as our own covenant God, we shall find the richest solace in waiting upon him.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
But I am as a deaf person Israel hears their reproach from the nations but does not respond. Why? Because I hoped for You, O Lord, that You would redeem me and save me from them.
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. 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְךָ֣ | lekha | for you | ||
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הוֹחָ֑לְתִּי | hochalti | I have waited | H3176 → | 41 times |
| אַתָּ֥ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| תַ֝עֲנֶ֗ה | taaneh | you will answer | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֥י | ʾadonai | O Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| אֱלֹהָֽי׃ | ʾelohai | God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לְךָ֣for you
lekha
יְהוָ֣הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הוֹחָ֑לְתִּיI have waited
hochaltiH3176 →41 times
אַתָּ֥הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
תַ֝עֲנֶ֗הyou will answer
taanehH6030 →331 times
אֲדֹנָ֥יO Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
אֱלֹהָֽי׃God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 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 39:7And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
it leads to
- Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Psalms 119:81
My soul faints for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.
- Genesis 49:18
I await Your salvation, O LORD.
- Romans 15:13
Through
Psalms 138:3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- Psalms 34:4–6
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
- Psalms 18:6
In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Zechariah 10:12
I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.
- 1 Peter 5:10
About Psalms
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2 and John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms.