Psalms 107:14
in Psalms 107He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And brake their bonds in sunder.
KJV
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 107
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHe brought them out of darkness,.... In which they were by nature, into marvellous light; to see their interest in Christ, and his salvation; and to have the light of joy and comfort in him. And the shadow of death; quickening them by his Spirit and grace; causing them to live by faith upon him; entitling them to eternal life, and securing them from eternal death.
This site's exposition
prisoners in affliction and chains
on Psalms 107:10-16
The second rescue is prisoners in affliction and chains. They sat in darkness and the shadow of death, and this stanza names its own cause, rebellion against the words of God. He brought them out, and verse 16 breaks gates of bronze and bars of iron.
This site's exposition
He brought them out of darkness
Each word of verse 10 is undone here, the darkness, the shadow of death and the chains. Shadow of death is tsalmaveth, the word of Psalm 23:4. Isaiah 42:7 gives the Servant this work, bringing those who sit in darkness out of the prison house.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And they cried unto the Lord when they were troubled, and He delivered them out of their distresses" [Psalm 107:13]. They were freed from the second temptation. There remains that of weariness and loathing. But first see what He did for them when freed. "And He led them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds asunder" [Psalm 107:14].
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, When God will work deliverance the greatest difficulties that lie in the way shall be made nothing of. Gates of brass and bars of iron, as they cannot keep him out from him people (he was with Joseph in the prison), so they cannot keep them in when the time, the set-time, for their enlargement, comes. The return that is required from those whose bands God has loosed (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death. The Lord in providence fetches out prisoners from their cells and bids them breathe the sweet fresh air again, and then he takes off their fetters, and gives liberty to their aching limbs. So also he frees men from care and trouble, and especially from the misery and slavery of sin. This he does with his own hand, for in the experience of all the saints it is certified that there is no jail delivery unless by the Judge himself. And brake their bands in sunder.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Their sufferings were for their rebellion against (Ps 105:28) the words, or purposes, or promises, of God for their benefit. When humbled they cry to God, who delivers them from bondage, described as a dark dungeon with doors and bars of metal, in which they are bound in iron--that is, chains and fetters. shadow of death--darkness with danger (Ps 23:4).
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death. The Lord in providence fetches out prisoners from their cells and bids them breathe the sweet fresh air again, and then he takes off their fetters, and gives liberty to their aching limbs. So also he frees men from care and trouble, and especially from the misery and slavery of sin. This he does with his own hand, for in the experience of all the saints it is certified that there is no jail delivery unless by the Judge himself. And brake their bands in sunder. Set them free by force, so liberating them that they could not be chained again, for he had broken the manacles to pieces. The Lord's deliverances are of the most complete and triumphant kind, he neither leaves the soul in darkness nor in bonds, nor does he permit the powers of evil again to enthral the liberated captive. What he does is done for ever. Glory be to his name.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
MY anxious, prayerful desire this morning is that some who have been in the condition described in the text may come out of it into full redemption. They have been too long in prison and now the silver trumpet sounds—liberty to the captives! Jesus has come into the world to break the gate of brass and to cut the bars of iron in two. Oh, that my prayer might be heard for those who are in bondage!
MY anxious, prayerful desire this morning is that some who have been in the condition described in the text may come out of it into full redemption. They have been too long in prison and now the silver trumpet sounds—liberty to the captives! Jesus has come into the world to break the gate of brass and to cut the bars of iron in two. Oh, that my prayer might be heard for those who are in bondage! I trust that some of those who are now immured in the dungeon of despondency will say, "Amen," to my prayer and, if they are praying inside and we are praying outside—and the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, comes to open the prison doors, then there will be a Jubilee before long. This passage, of course, literally alludes to prisoners held in durance by their fellow men. What a sad world man has made of this earth! With superfluity of evil, man has multiplied his Bastilles! As if there were not misery enough to the free, he invents cells and chains! One's blood boils when standing in those living graves in which tyrants have buried their victims out of sight and hearing! Could the most fierce of wild beasts display such cruelty to their kind as men have shown to men? By the horrors of such imprisonments, one must estimate the joy of being set free. To God it is a glory that, in the order of His Providence, He often provides a way of escape for the oppressed. Cruel dynasties have been overthrown, tyrants have been hurled from their thrones and then enlargement has come to those who were shut up. Liberated ones should, indeed, "praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men." But the various scenes in this Psalm were intended to describe spiritual conditions.
He brought then out of darkness - 1. Gave them again peace and prosperity. 2. Repealed the sentence of death. 3. “Unbound the poor prisoners.” 4. Broke their iron bonds in sunder.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death - From their captivity; from calamity which seemed to be as gloomy as the shadow of death. And brake their bands in sunder - Delivered them from their bondage, as if the bands of a prisoner or captive were suddenly broken.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֽ֭וֹצִיאֵם | yotziem | he brought out them | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵחֹ֣שֶׁךְ | mechoshekh | from darkness | H2822 → | 80 times |
| וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת | vetzalmavet | and deep darkness | H6757 → | 18 times |
| וּמוֹסְר֖וֹתֵיהֶ֣ם | umosroteihem | and fetters their | H4147 → | 11 times |
| יְנַתֵּֽק׃ | yenatek | he tore apart | H5423 → |
יֽ֭וֹצִיאֵםhe brought out them
yotziemH3318 →1067 times
מֵחֹ֣שֶׁךְfrom darkness
mechoshekhH2822 →80 times
וְצַלְמָ֑וֶתand deep darkness
vetzalmavetH6757 →18 times
וּמוֹסְר֖וֹתֵיהֶ֣םand fetters their
umosroteihemH4147 →11 times
יְנַתֵּֽק׃he tore apart
yenatekH5423 →
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
1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
it leads to
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
- Revelation 1:6
who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
- Revelation 5:10
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
- Isaiah 61:6
But you will be called the priests of the LORD; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will feed on the wealth of nations, and you will boast in their…
- Exodus 19:5–6
Through
Ephesians 5:8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
it leads to
- John 8:12
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
- John 8:12
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 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 107; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1992: “Song for the Free—Hope for the Bound” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.