Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
- KJV Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
- NKJV Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
- NASB I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child resting against his mother, My soul within me is like a weaned child.
- NLT Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
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 has calmed his soul like a weaned child content with its mother. It pictures restful trust that no longer frets or grasps.
Overview
David compares his quieted soul to a weaned child resting peacefully with its mother, no longer crying for what it craves but simply content to be near. This is the peace of a heart settled in God rather than its own desires. Such rest is found fully in Christ, who gives peace to the weary and burdened.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Mark 10:15Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
- 1 Cor 14:20Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- Ps 43:5Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Lam 3:26It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
- Ps 42:11Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Matt 18:3–4“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
- John 14:1–2“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
- Isa 30:15For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”
- Ps 62:1For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him.
- Ps 42:5Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.
- Luke 21:19By your patient endurance you will gain your souls.
- 1 Sam 30:6And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
- 1 Sam 24:10Behold, this day you have seen with your own eyes that the LORD delivered you into my hand in the cave. I was told to kill you, but I spared you and said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my lord, since he is the LORD’s anointed.’
- 2 Sam 15:25–26Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.
- 2 Sam 16:11–12Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son, my own flesh and blood, seeks my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him so.
- 1 Sam 25:32–33Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day!
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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 131:2 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.