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
14 notes on this verse(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 Church Fathers2 voices
"For in Thee, O Lord, do I hope; Thou wilt hear, O Lord, my God." As if it were said to Him, "Wherefore openedst thou not thy mouth? Wherefore didst Thou not say, 'Refrain'? Wherefore didst Thou not rebuke the unrighteous, while hanging on the Cross?" He goes on and says, "For in Thee, O Lord, do I hope; Thou, O Lord my God, wilt hear." He warns you what to do, should tribulation haply befall. For you seek to defend yourself, and perhaps your defence is not listened to by any one. Then are you confounded, as if you had lost your cause; because you have none to defend or to bear testimony in your favour. "Keep" but your "innocence" within, where no one can pervert thy cause. False-witness has prevailed against you before men. Will it then prevail before God, where your cause has to be pleaded? When God shall be Judge, there shall be no other witness than your own conscience. In the presence of a just judge, and of your own conscience, fear nothing but your own cause. If you have not a bad cause, you will have no accuser to dread; no false-witness to confute, nor witness to the truth to look for. Do but bring into court a good conscience, that you may say, "For in Thee, O Lord, do I hope; Thou, O Lord my God, wilt hear."
He always trusted in the Lord who is able to transform sorrow into joy.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Because in you, O Lord, I have hoped." Here is set forth the cause of patience, which is threefold: on the part of God, on the part of enemies, and on the part of himself. And on the part of God the cause of patience …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " I was as a man that opens not his mouth, for in thee, O Lord! do I hope. I depend upon thee to plead my cause and clear my innocency, and, some way or other, to put my enemies to silence and shame." His lovers and friends, that should have owned him, and stood by him, and appeared as witnesses for him, withdrew from him,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
); "in thee do I hope, for thou wilt hear, lest they should rejoice over me. I comforted myself with that when I was apprehensive that they would overwhelm me." It is a great support to us, when men are false and unkind, that we have a God to go to whom we may be free with and who will be faithful to us.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
7 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For in thee, O Lord, do I hope,....
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
for he is confident the Lord--literally, "Sovereign" (to whom he was a servant), would answer his prayer (Ps 3:4; 4:1), and not permit their triumph in his partial halting, of which he was in danger.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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. Reputation like a fair pearl may be cast into the mire, but in due time when the Lord makes up his jewels, the godly character shall shine with unclouded splendour. Rest then, O slandered one, and let not thy soul be tossed to and fro with anxiety.
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.
In thee, O Lord, do I hope - I have no helper but thee. Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God - Thou art eternal in thy compassions, and wilt hear the prayer of a penitent soul. In the printed copies of the Hebrew text we have אדני אלהי Adonai Elohai, Lord my God; but, instead of אדני Adonai, one hundred and two of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS. read יהוה Yehovah. As this word is never pronounced by the Jews, and they consider it dreadfully sacred, in reading, wherever it occurs, they pronounce אדני Adonai; and we may well suppose that Jewish scribes, in writing out copies of the sacred Scriptures, would as naturally write Adonai for Yehovah, as they would in reading supply the former for the latter.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For in thee, O Lord, do I hope - This shows the reason or ground of his patience. He committed his whole cause to God. He believed that God would take care of his reputation, and that he would vindicate him. See Psa 37:5-6. He had no doubt that He would protect his character, and that, notwithstanding the reproaches of his enemies, his true character would at last be made to shine forth, so that all men would see that he had been unjustly aspersed. The exact idea here is expressed, and the sentiment was beautifully and perfectly illustrated, in what is said of the Lord Jesus: “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously,” 1Pe 2:23. Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God - Margin, as in Hebrew: “answer.” The idea is, that God would answer his prayers, and that his character would, in answer to those prayers, be set right before the world.
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 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 38; Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 38:16; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.