Psalms 59:9
in Psalms 59I will keep watch for You, O my strength, because You, O God, are my fortress.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Because of his strength I will give heed unto thee; For God is my high tower.
KJV
Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.
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This verse in Psalms 59
Commentary
10 notes on this verseBecause of his strength will I wait upon thee,.... Either because of the strength of Saul, who was stronger than David, he determined to wait upon the Lord for salvation and deliverance from him; or because of the strength of the Lord, which he expected from him, and therefore would wait upon him for it. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and also the Chaldee paraphrase, render the words, "my strength will I keep for thee"; or "with thee".
This site's exposition
I will keep watch for You
on Psalms 59:9-10
Fortress is the word that carries the rest of the psalm, here and twice more at verses 16 and 17. Verse 10 has God coming to meet him and letting him stare down his foes. God is named here by His loving devotion.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
There remains the Pelagians' second act of wickedness, because they posit free will to such a degree in human strength that they think that they by themselves, apart from the grace of God, can conceive of some good or do it. But if this were …
Therefore, it is good for a person to say truthfully and with the full strength of his free will, "I will provide you with my strength," because the man who thought he could keep it without the help of him who gave it went abroad into a far country and wasted his substance, living riotously. But, worn down by the wretchedness of a harsh slavery, he returned to himself and said, "I will arise and go to my father." But how could he have had this good thought if the most merciful Father had not whispered it to him in secret? It was because he understood this that the minister of the New Testament said, "Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." Consequently, when the psalmist also had said, "I will provide you with my strength," lest he should attribute to himself the fact that he was keeping it, and as if he recalled to mind that "except the Lord keep the city, they watch in vain that keep it," and that "he shall neither slumber nor sleep that keeps Israel," he added the reason of his being able to keep it, or, rather, the guard by whom it is kept and said, "For you, O God, are my protector."
The Medieval Church1 voice
In order not to falter in good works, we ought always to rely for support on the help of the one who says, "For without me you can do nothing." Hence in order to express the fact that the start of faith and good action …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. 3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v1-3
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Because of his strength will I wait upon thee. Is my persecutor strong? Then, my God, for this very reason I will turn myself to thee, and leave my matters in thy hand. It is a wise thing to find in the greatness of our difficulties a reason for casting ourselves on the Lord. For God is my defence, my high place, my fortress, the place of my resort in the time of my danger. If the foe be too strong for me to cope with him, I will retreat into my castle, where he cannot reach me.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
By judicious expositors, and on good grounds, this is better rendered, "O my strength, on Thee will I wait" (Ps 59:17). defence--(Compare Ps 18:3).
Because of his strength will I wait upon thee - With this reading, I can make no sense of the passage. But instead of עזו uzzo, “his strength,” עזי uzzi, “my strength,” is the reading of fourteen of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS., of the Vulgate, Septuagint, Chaldee, and, in effect, of the Aethiopia, Syriac, and Arabic; and also of the Anglo-Saxon. To thee I commit all my strength; all I have I derive from thee, and all the good I possess I attribute to thee. The old Psalter translates, My strenght I shall kepe till the, for myn uptaker thou art. See on Psa 59:17 (note).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Because of his strength will I wait upon thee - literally, “His strength - I will wait upon thee.” The reference here is not to the strength or power of God, as if the fact that “He” was powerful was a reason why the psalmist should look to him - but it is to the strength or power of the enemy - of Saul and his followers. There is much abruptness in the expression. The psalmist looks at the power of his enemy. “‘His strength,’ he cries. It is great. It is beyond my power to resist it. It is so great that I have no other refuge but God; and because it is so great, I will fix my eyes on him alone.” The word rendered “wait upon” means rather to look to; to observe; to fix the eyes upon. For God is my defense - Margin, “My high place.” That is, God was to him “as” a high place, or a place of refuge; a place where he would be safe. See the notes at Psa 18:2.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
[Because of] his strength The strength and might of my enemy, who is stronger than I. I hope for You and I wait [for You] to rescue me from him.
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. 2 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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֻ֭זּוֹ | uzo | strength his | H5797 → | 92 times |
| אֵלֶ֣יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶשְׁמֹ֑רָה | ʾeshmorah | I will watch | H8104 → | 468 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִשְׂגַּבִּֽי׃ | misgabi | [is] refuge my | H4869 → | 17 times |
עֻ֭זּוֹstrength his
uzoH5797 →92 times
אֵלֶ֣יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
אֶשְׁמֹ֑רָהI will watch
ʾeshmorahH8104 →468 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
מִשְׂגַּבִּֽי׃[is] refuge my
misgabiH4869 →17 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 27:14Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Psalms 31:24
Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the LORD.
- Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- Psalms 37:34
Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
- Psalms 130:5
I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.
- Isaiah 40:31
Through
Psalms 9:9The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
it leads to
- Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Psalms 91:1–2
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 46:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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, LETTER 186; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1:2; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 50:7; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.