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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. God of my praise, don’t remain silent,
Psalms 109:1 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
  • BSB For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, be not silent.
  • ESV Be not silent, O God of my praise!
  • NKJV Donot keep silent, O God of my praise!
  • NASB God of my praise, Do not be silent!
  • NLT O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloof

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

David cries to the God of his praise, pleading with him not to remain silent.

Overview

Opening this imprecatory psalm, David appeals to God whom he praises, begging him not to be silent amid persecution. He directs his complaint not to revenge but to the God who judges justly. This pattern of entrusting one's cause to God anticipates Christ, who when reviled did not retaliate but committed himself to the One who judges righteously.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Ps 28:1By David. To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me; lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.
  • Ps 83:1A song. A Psalm by Asaph. God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God.
  • Deut 10:21He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things, which your eyes have seen.
  • Isa 42:14“I have been silent a long time. I have been quiet and restrained myself. Now I will cry out like a travailing woman. I will both gasp and pant.
  • Exod 15:2Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
  • Ps 35:22–23You have seen it, Yahweh. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me.
  • Jer 17:14Heal me, O Yahweh, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for you are my praise.
  • Ps 118:28You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will exalt you.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 109:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 109:1 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.