“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”
- KJV The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
- BSB “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
- NKJV “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
- NLT I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Because the LORD himself is his portion, he resolves to hope in him. It grounds hope in possessing God as one's true inheritance.
Overview
The sufferer declares the LORD to be 'my portion,' echoing the language of the Levites whose inheritance was God himself (Numbers 18:20; Psalm 73:26). Having God is enough to sustain hope even when all else is lost. This finds its fullness in Christ, through whom believers receive God as their everlasting inheritance and portion (Ephesians 1:11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Ps 73:26My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
- Ps 16:5Yahweh assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.
- Ps 142:5I cried to you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- Lam 3:21This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.
- Ps 33:18Behold, Yahweh’s eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness;
- Job 13:15Behold, he will kill me. I have no hope. Nevertheless, I will maintain my ways before him.
- Ps 62:8Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.
- Ps 31:24Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in Yahweh.
- Jer 51:19The portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the former of all things; including the tribe of his inheritance: Yahweh of Armies is his name.
- 1 Pet 1:21who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
- 1 Sam 30:6David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.
- 1 Chr 5:20They were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them; for they cried to God in the battle, and he was answered them, because they put their trust in him.
- Ps 42:11Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him, the saving help of my countenance, and my God.
- Ps 130:7Israel, hope in Yahweh, for with Yahweh there is loving kindness. With him is abundant redemption.
- Jer 10:16The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Yahweh of Armies is his name.
- Ps 84:12Yahweh of Armies, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
- Ps 43:5Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my God.
- Rom 15:12Again, Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope.”
- Ps 119:57Yahweh is my portion. I promised to obey your words.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 3:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.