Psalms 79:11
in Psalms 79May the groans of the captives reach You; by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee: According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to death;
KJV
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
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This verse in Psalms 79
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Where is their God
on Psalms 79:10-11
The taunt of the nations is the ground of the prayer, that God's vengeance for the bloodshed of His servants be made known. Verse 11 asks for the groans of the captives to reach Him and for those condemned to be preserved. Spurgeon reads the plea narrowing to the prisoners.
This site's exposition
preserve those condemned to death
Clarke read those condemned to death as sons of death, deserving it for their sins and marked for it by their captors. Henry said that man's extremity is God's opportunity. The strength of His arm alone can preserve such captives.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Let the groaning of the fettered enter into your sight. This is what those who follow the teachings of Origen are accustomed to say: The groaning of the fettered — that is, of the angels, they say, who have been fettered in bodies. For just as, if fetters are put on the feet, they weigh down the body and do not allow it to run; so also our bodies enclose souls — that is, angels — and weigh them down upon the earth. And with what words do they prove this?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To the divine power: " According to the greatness of thy arm, which no creature can contest with, preserve thou those that are appointed to die from the death to which they are appointed." Man's extremity is God's opportunity to appear for his people. Lastly, They promise the returns of praise for the answers of prayer (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
"Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee." When thy people cannot sing, and dare not shout aloud, then let their silent sigh ascend into thine ear, and secure for them deliverance. These words are suitable for the afflicted in a great variety of conditions; men of experience will know how to adapt them to their own position and to use them in reference to others. "According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die." Faith grows while it prays; the appeal to the Lord's tender mercy is here supplemented by another addressed to the divine power, and the petitioner rises from a request for those who are brought low, to a prayer for those who are on the verge of death, set apart as victims for the slaughter. How consoling is it to desponding believers to reflect that God can preserve even those who bear the sentence of death in themselves. Men and devils may consign us to perdition, while sickness drags us to the grave, and sorrow sinks us in the dust; but, there is One who can keep our soul alive, ay, and bring it up again from the depths of despair. A lamb shall live between the lion's jaws if the Lord wills it. Even in the charnel, life shall vanquish death if God be near.
"Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee." When thy people cannot sing, and dare not shout aloud, then let their silent sigh ascend into thine ear, and secure for them deliverance. These words are suitable for the afflicted in a great variety of conditions; men of experience will know how to adapt them to their own position and to use them in reference to others. "According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die."
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The sighing of the prisoner - The poor captive Israelites in Babylon, who sigh and cry because of their bondage. Those that are appointed to die - בני תמותה beney themuthah, “sons of death.” Either those who were condemned to death because of their crimes, or condemned to be destroyed by their oppressors. Both these senses apply to the Israelites: they were sons of death, i.e., worthy of death because of their sins against God; they were condemned to death or utter destruction, by their Babylonish enemies.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee - The sighing of him who is bound. The allusion here is, doubtless, to those among the Hebrews who had been taken captives, and who “sighed” not only on account of the sufferings which they endured in their bondage, but because they had been taken from their country and home. The meaning is, “Hear those sighs, and come for the deliverance of those who are thus held in captivity.” According to the greatness of thy power - Margin, as in Hebrew, thine arm. The arm is the symbol of power.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תָּ֤ב֣וֹא | tavo' | may it come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְפָנֶיךָ֮ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֶנְקַ֪ת | ʾenkat | [the] groaning of | H603 → | 4 times |
| אָ֫סִ֥יר | ʾasir | [the] prisoner | H616 → | |
| כְּגֹ֥דֶל | kegodel | according to [the] greatness of | H1433 → | |
| זְרוֹעֲךָ֑ | zeroakha | arm your | H2220 → | 91 times |
| ה֝וֹתֵ֗ר | hoter | leave over | H3498 → | |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| תְמוּתָֽה׃ | temutah | death | H8546 → |
תָּ֤ב֣וֹאmay it come
tavo'H935 →2568 times
לְפָנֶיךָ֮<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
אֶנְקַ֪ת[the] groaning of
ʾenkatH603 →4 times
אָ֫סִ֥יר[the] prisoner
ʾasirH616 →
כְּגֹ֥דֶלaccording to [the] greatness of
kegodelH1433 →
זְרוֹעֲךָ֑arm your
zeroakhaH2220 →91 times
ה֝וֹתֵ֗רleave over
hoterH3498 →
בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
תְמוּתָֽה׃death
temutahH8546 →
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 102:20to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death,
it leads to
- Psalms 146:7
He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 146:7
Through
Isaiah 42:7to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
it leads to
- Ephesians 1:17–18
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
- Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
- Isaiah 35:5
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
- Isaiah 49:9
to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.
- Ephesians 1:17–18
Through
Isaiah 33:2O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 1:3–4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
- 2 Corinthians 1:3–4
Through
Psalms 69:33For the LORD listens to the needy and does not despise His captive people.
it leads to
- Psalms 68:6
God settles the lonely in families; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
- Acts 5:18–19
and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
- Psalms 68:6
About Psalms
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); Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Jerome, Homily 12, on Psalm 78; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.