My soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.”
Parallel translations
- KJV O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
- BSB I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.”
- NKJV O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
- NASB I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides You.”
- NLT I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from 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
David confesses that Yahweh is his Lord and that he has no good apart from him. It matters because it teaches that God himself is our highest and only true good.
Overview
The psalmist addresses his own soul, acknowledging Yahweh as Lord and declaring that every good thing he has depends on God. All blessing flows from the Giver, and apart from him there is nothing truly good. This God-centered satisfaction is fulfilled in Christ, who is the believer's supreme treasure.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 73:25Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you.
- Ps 31:14But I trust in you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my God.”
- Ps 91:2I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
- Job 22:2–3“Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
- Ps 89:26He will call to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation!’
- Ps 8:1For the Chief Musician; on an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by David. Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who has set your glory above the heavens!
- Ps 27:8When you said, “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “I will seek your face, Yahweh.”
- John 20:28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
- Isa 26:13Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us, but by you only will we make mention of your name.
- Rom 11:35“Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?”
- Zech 13:9I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘It is my people;’ and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’”
- Isa 44:5One will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s;’ and another will be called by the name of Jacob; and another will write with his hand ‘to Yahweh,’ and honor the name of Israel.”
- Luke 17:10Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”
- Ps 50:9–10I have no need for a bull from your stall, nor male goats from your pens.
- Job 35:7–8If you are righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive from your hand?
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 16:2 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.