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But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.
Psalms 130:4 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB But there is forgiveness with you, therefore you are feared.
  • KJV But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
  • NKJV But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
  • NASB But there is forgiveness with You, So that You may be revered.
  • NLT But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.

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

There is forgiveness with God, and this leads people to fear Him. It reveals that grace, not just judgment, produces true reverence.

Overview

Against the despair of universal guilt, the psalm proclaims that forgiveness belongs to God, and that this very mercy inspires reverent fear rather than presumption. Grace humbles and draws the heart to worship. This forgiveness is grounded in Christ, through whom God justly pardons sinners.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Isa 55:7Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
  • Jer 33:8–9And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
  • Ps 86:5For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
  • 1 Kgs 8:39–40be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—
  • Dan 9:9To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him
  • 2 Cor 5:19that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
  • Mic 7:18–20Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
  • Col 1:14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
  • Isa 1:18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
  • Rom 8:1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
  • Hos 3:5Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
  • Eph 1:7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
  • Ps 103:2–3Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—
  • Ps 25:11For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.
  • Acts 9:31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
  • 2 Tim 2:19Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”
  • Heb 12:24–28to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
  • Exod 34:5–7And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD.
  • Jer 31:34No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
  • Ps 2:11–12Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 130:4YouTube · 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 130:4 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.