Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Parallel translations
- WEB I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.
- KJV I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
- NKJV I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.
- NASB I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.
- NLT Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.
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 affirms his confidence that he will see God's goodness in the land of the living. It declares faith's firm hope amid trouble.
Overview
Against fear and false witnesses, David clings to assured expectation of experiencing God's goodness while still alive. The 'land of the living' contrasts with the pit of death he dreaded. This confidence rests on God's character and ultimately on the resurrection hope secured in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 2 Cor 4:16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
- Ps 142:5I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- 2 Cor 4:8–14We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
- Ps 56:3When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
- Ps 31:19How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!
- Ps 56:13For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
- 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.
- Ps 116:9–11I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
- Job 28:13No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
- Eph 2:8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- 2 Cor 4:1Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
- Jer 11:19For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”
- Ezek 26:20then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living.
- Isa 38:19The living, only the living, can thank You, as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness.
- Job 33:30to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
- Isa 38:11I said, “I will never again see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living; I will no longer look on mankind with those who dwell in this world.
- Ps 52:5Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 27:13 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.