Psalms 79:8
in Psalms 79Do not hold past sins against us; let Your compassion come quickly, for we are brought low.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers: Let thy tender mercies speedily meet us; For we are brought very low.
KJV
O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.
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This verse in Psalms 79
Commentary
4 notes on this verseSince we have become poor. Since you became poor for our sake, therefore we too have become poor. "The prayer of the poor man, when he is in anguish, and pours out his prayer before the Lord." Since you became poor, though you were rich, we too have become poor.
This site's exposition
Do not hold past sins against us
on Psalms 79:8-9
The prayer turns from the enemy to the people's own sins, and asks pardon before relief. The appeal rests on God's own name and His glory, the same ground Moses took at Exodus 32:12. Henry reads the two requests, rescue and pardon, as one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In the captivity of Babylon former iniquities were brought to account; but God promises not again to do so ( Jer. xxxi. 29, 30 ), and so they pray, "Remember not against us our first sins," which some make to look as far back as the golden calf, because God said, In the day when I visit I will visit for this sin of theirs upon them, Exod. xxxii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Remember not against us former iniquities - Visit us not for the sins of our forefathers. Speedily prevent us - Let them go before us, and turn us out of the path of destruction; for there is no help for us but in thee. We are brought very low - Literally, “We are greatly thinned.” Few of us remain.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַֽל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּזְכָּר־ | tizkor- | you remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| לָנוּ֮ | lanu | to us | ||
| עֲוֹנֹ֪ת | ʾavonot | iniquities | H5771 → | 233 times |
| רִאשֹׁ֫נִ֥ים | rishonim | former | H7223 → | |
| מַ֭הֵר | maher | [surely] quickly | H4116 → | 68 times |
| יְקַדְּמ֣וּנוּ | yekademunu | may they come to meet us | H6923 → | 26 times |
| רַחֲמֶ֑יךָ | rachameikha | compassion<s> your | H7356 → | 45 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| דַלּ֣וֹנוּ | dalonu | we have become low | H1809 → | 9 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
אַֽל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּזְכָּר־you remember
tizkor-H2142 →230 times
לָנוּ֮to us
lanu
עֲוֹנֹ֪תiniquities
ʾavonotH5771 →233 times
רִאשֹׁ֫נִ֥יםformer
rishonimH7223 →
מַ֭הֵר[surely] quickly
maherH4116 →68 times
יְקַדְּמ֣וּנוּmay they come to meet us
yekademunuH6923 →26 times
רַחֲמֶ֑יךָcompassion<s> your
rachameikhaH7356 →45 times
כִּ֖יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
דַלּ֣וֹנוּwe have become low
dalonuH1809 →9 times
מְאֹֽד׃exceedingly
meodH3966 →300 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 21:3For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:30
Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a…
- 2 Samuel 12:30
Through
Psalms 116:6The LORD preserves the simplehearted; I was helpless, and He saved me.
it leads to
- Psalms 142:6
Listen to my cry, for I am brought quite low. Rescue me from my pursuers, for they are too strong for me.
- Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
- Psalms 19:7
The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Psalms 142:6
Through
Revelation 18:5For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
it leads to
- Ezra 9:6
and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
- Genesis 18:20–21
Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
- Revelation 16:19
The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His…
- Jeremiah 51:9
“We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Abandon her! Let each of us go to his own land, for her judgment extends to the sky and reaches to the clouds.”
- Ezra 9:6
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Homily 12, on Psalm 78; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.