Psalms 107:9
in Psalms 107For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he satisfieth the longing soul, And the hungry soul he filleth with good.
KJV
For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
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This verse in Psalms 107
Commentary
9 notes on this verseFor he satisfieth the longing soul. This is the summary of the lost traveller's experience. He who in a natural sense has been rescued from perishing in a howling wilderness ought to bless the Lord who brings hint again to eat bread among men. The spiritual sense is, however, the more rich in instruction. The Lord sets us longing and then completely satisfies us.
This site's exposition
wandered in desert wastelands
on Psalms 107:4-9
The first of four rescues is wanderers in desert wastelands with no road to a city and no food or water. Each one turns on the same cry to the LORD in their trouble, and here He led them on a straight path. He fills the hungry with good things.
This site's exposition
For He satisfies the thirsty
For gives the ground of the thanks in verse 8, and the line answers the hunger and thirst of verse 5. Mary's song at Luke 1:53 takes up the line, praising the God who fills the hungry. Both halves use nefesh, the soul of verse 5.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
How He helped their hunger and thirst, He says not, but even this expect ye: "Let them confess unto the Lord His mercies, and His wonders towards the children of men" [Psalm 107:8]. Tell them, you that are experienced, to the inexperienced; ye that are already in the way, already directed towards finding the city, already at last free from hunger and thirst. "Because He has satisfied the empty soul, and filled the hungry soul with good things" [Psalm 107:9].
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness, after God, the living God, and communion with him, shall be abundantly replenished with the goodness of his house, both in grace and glory. Now for all this those who receive mercy are called upon to return thanks (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
For he satisfieth the longing soul,.... The soul that is hungry and thirsty, and longs for food and drink, when nature in such circumstances craves. And so such who long for Christ and his grace, for an interest in him, and fellowship with him, the Lord satisfies with these things, as with marrow and fatness.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For he satisfieth the longing soul. This is the summary of the lost traveller's experience. He who in a natural sense has been rescued from perishing in a howling wilderness ought to bless the Lord who brings hint again to eat bread among men. The spiritual sense is, however, the more rich in instruction. The Lord sets us longing and then completely satisfies us. That longing leads us into solitude, separation, thirst, faintness and self despair, and all these conduct us to prayer, faith, divine guidance, satisfying of the soul's thirst, and rest: the good hand of the Lord is to be seen in the whole process and in the divine result. And filleth the hungry soul with goodness. As for thirst he gives satisfaction, so for hunger he supplies filling. In both cases the need is more than met, there is an abundance in the supply which is well worthy of notice: the Lord does nothing in a niggardly fashion; satisfying and filling are his peculiar modes of treating his guests; none who come under the Lord's providing ever complain of short commons. Nor does he fill the hungry with common fare, but with goodness itself. It is not so much good, as the essence of goodness which he bestows on needy suppliants. Shall man be thus royally supplied and return no praise for the largeness of love? It must not be so. We will even now give thanks with all the redeemed church, and pray for the time when the whole earth shall be filled with his glory.
For he satisfieth the longing soul - This is the reason which the psalmist gives for the duty of thankfulness which he prescribes. The longing soul, נפש שוקקה nephesh shokekah, the soul that pushes forward in eager desire after salvation.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For he satisfieth the longing soul - This does not mean - what is indeed true in itself - that God has made provision for the “soul” of man, and satisfies it when it longs or pants for its needed supply, but the reference is to the creatures of God - the living things that he has made; and the idea is, that he has made provision for their needs. He gives them food and drink, so that their needs are met. The “particular” reference here, however, in the word rendered “longing” is to “thirst,” as contradistinguished from the other member of the verse, where the reference is to “hunger.” So the word is used in Isa 29:8. And filleth the hungry soul with goodness - Supplies the needs of the hungry with “good;” that is, with that which is “good” for it; which meets its needs, and imparts strength and happiness.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death Also those imprisoned in a dungeon are required to give thanks when they emerge from their prison.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִ֭שְׂבִּיעַ | hisbia' | he satisfies | H7646 → | 97 times |
| נֶ֣פֶשׁ | nefesh | a throat | H5315 → | 754 times |
| שֹׁקֵקָ֑ה | shokekah | longing | H8264 → | |
| וְנֶ֥פֶשׁ | venefesh | and a throat | H5315 → | 754 times |
| רְ֝עֵבָה | reevah | hungry | H7457 → | 20 times |
| מִלֵּא־ | mile'- | he fills | H4390 → | 249 times |
| טֽוֹב׃ | tov | good thing[s] | H2896 → | 538 times |
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִ֭שְׂבִּיעַhe satisfies
hisbia'H7646 →97 times
נֶ֣פֶשׁa throat
nefeshH5315 →754 times
שֹׁקֵקָ֑הlonging
shokekahH8264 →
וְנֶ֥פֶשׁand a throat
venefeshH5315 →754 times
רְ֝עֵבָהhungry
reevahH7457 →20 times
מִלֵּא־he fills
mile'-H4390 →249 times
טֽוֹב׃good thing[s]
tovH2896 →538 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
Matthew 5:6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
it leads to
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 6:27
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of…
- John 6:48–58
I am the bread of life.
- Psalms 145:19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
- Isaiah 55:1–3
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
- John 4:14
Through
Psalms 34:10Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
it leads to
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Psalms 84:11
Through
Jeremiah 31:25for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”
it leads to
- Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
- Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Matthew 5:6
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 Treasury of David; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.