Psalms 78:37
in Psalms 78Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For their heart was not right with him, Neither were they faithful in his covenant.
KJV
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
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This verse in Psalms 78
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For their heart was not right with him - Luther renders this, “Not fast with him.” The Hebrew word means “to fit, to prepare;” and the idea is, that the heart was not “adjusted” to such a profession, or did not “accord” with such a promise or pledge. It was a mere profession made by the lips, while the heart remained unaffected. See the notes at Psa 78:8. Neither were they stedfast in his covenant - In maintaining his covenant, or in adhering to it. Compare Psa 25:14; Psa 44:17. See also Psa 78:8.
This site's exposition
they kept on sinning
on Psalms 78:32-39
They kept on sinning, and when He slew them they sought Him, then remembered that God was their Rock. Their repentance reached the mouth and stopped, and their hearts stayed disloyal to His covenant. He forgave them anyway, remembering they were flesh.
This site's exposition
Their hearts were disloyal to Him
Barnes read the Hebrew as a heart unfit for its promise, like the fathers of verse 8 whose heart was disloyal. Spurgeon said good resolutions came to their hearts as travellers come to inns, staying a while and then leaving. Mouth and heart disagreed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Lastly, here let us see the words following: "And they loved Him," he says, "in their mouth, and in their tongue they lied unto Him" [Psalm 78:36]. "But their heart was not right with Him, and they were not counted faithful in His Testament" [Psalm 78:37]. One thing on their tongue, another thing in their heart He found, unto whom the secret things of men are naked, and without any impediment He saw what they loved rather. Therefore the heart is right with God, when it does seek God for the sake of God. For one thing he desired of the Lord, the same he will require, that he may dwell always in the House of the Lord, and may meditate on the pleasantness of Him. Unto Whom says the heart of the faithful, I will be filled, not with the flesh-pots of the Egyptians, nor with melons and gourds, and garlick and onions, which a generation crooked and embittering did prefer even to bread celestial, [Exodus 16:3] nor with visible manna, and those same winged fowls; but, "I will be filled, when Your glory shall be made manifest." For this is the inheritance of the New Testament, wherein they were not counted faithful; whereof however the faith even at that time, when it was veiled, was in the elect, and now, when it has already been revealed, it is not in many that are called. "For many have been called, but few are elect." [Matthew 20:16] Of such sort therefore was the generation crooked and embittering, even when they were seeming to seek God, loving in mouth, and in tongue lying; but in heart not right with God, while they loved rather those things, for the sake of which they required the help of God.
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15 · Written before 99.
proposed
Let us cleave, therefore, to those who cultivate peace with godliness, and not to those who hypocritically profess to desire it.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): They did but flatter him with their mouth, as if they thought by fair speeches to prevail with him to revoke the sentence and remove the judgment, with a secret intention to break their word when the danger was over; they did not return to God with their whole heart, but feignedly, Jer. iii. All their professions, prayers, and promises, were extorted by the rack.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For their heart was not right with him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Though there were partial reformations after chastisement, and God, in pity, withdrew His hand for a time, yet their general conduct was rebellious, and He was thus provoked to waste and destroy them, by long and fruitless wandering in the desert.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
For their heart was not right with him. There was no depth in their repentance, it was not heart work. They were fickle as a weathercock, every wind turned them, their mind was not settled upon God. Neither were they stedfast in his covenant. Their promises were no sooner made than broken, as if only made in mockery. Good resolutions called at their hearts as men do at inns; they tarried awhile, and then took their leave. They were hot today for holiness, but cold towards it tomorrow. Variable as the hues of the dolphin, they changed from reverence to rebellion, from thankfulness to murmuring. One day they gave their gold to build a tabernacle for Jehovah, and the next they plucked off their earrings to make a golden calf. Surely the heart is a chameleon. Proteus had not so many changes. As in the ague we both burn and freeze, so do inconstant natures in their religion.
For their heart was not right with him. There was no depth in their repentance, it was not heart work. They were fickle as a weathercock, every wind turned them, their mind was not settled upon God. Neither were they stedfast in his covenant. Their promises were no sooner made than broken, as if only made in mockery. Good resolutions called at their hearts as men do at inns; they tarried awhile, and then took their leave. They were hot today for holiness, but cold towards it tomorrow.
Their heart was not right - When the heart is wrong, the life is wrong; and because their heart was not right with God, therefore they were not faithful in his covenant.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֭לִבָּם | velibom | and heart their | H3820 → | 595 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָכ֣וֹן | nakhon | [was] steadfast | H3559 → | 217 times |
| עִמּ֑וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נֶ֝אֶמְנ֗וּ | neemnu | they were faithful | H539 → | 106 times |
| בִּבְרִיתֽוֹ׃ | bivrito | in covenant his | H1285 → | 284 times |
וְ֭לִבָּםand heart their
velibomH3820 →595 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נָכ֣וֹן[was] steadfast
nakhonH3559 →217 times
עִמּ֑וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נֶ֝אֶמְנ֗וּthey were faithful
neemnuH539 →106 times
בִּבְרִיתֽוֹ׃in covenant his
bivritoH1285 →284 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 51:10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 11:19
And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
- Ephesians 4:22–24
to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
- Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
- Ezekiel 18:31
Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
- Ezekiel 11:19
Through
Psalms 78:8Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
it leads to
- Exodus 32:9
The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.
- 2 Kings 17:14
But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.
- Exodus 32:9
Through
Deuteronomy 31:20When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to…
it leads to
- Hosea 13:6
When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
- Hosea 13:6
Where this verse is studied
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About Psalms
This page draws on 10 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); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 78; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.