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Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.
Psalms 32:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him.
  • KJV For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
  • NKJV For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him.
  • NASB Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Certainly in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
  • NLT Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.

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

Because God forgives, every godly person should pray to him while he may be found, confident of safety in the flood of trouble.

Overview

Having just celebrated the blessedness of forgiveness, David urges others to seek God in prayer while there is opportunity. The image of overflowing waters not reaching the one who hides in God pictures security amid life's overwhelming dangers. This anticipates the gospel call to come to God now through Christ, the one in whom believers are kept safe.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 23

  • Isa 55:6Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
  • Isa 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
  • 2 Cor 6:2For He says: “In the time of favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!
  • Prov 1:28Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
  • Ps 34:2–5My soul boasts in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
  • Ps 4:3Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.
  • Matt 7:24–27Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
  • John 7:34You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
  • Ps 40:3He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
  • Ps 42:7Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.
  • Ps 69:13–15But my prayer to You, O LORD, is for a time of favor. In Your abundant loving devotion, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation.
  • Ps 144:7Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,
  • Ps 124:4–5then the floods would have engulfed us, then the torrent would have overwhelmed us,
  • Titus 2:12It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
  • Gen 7:17–22For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth.
  • Luke 19:42–44and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
  • 2 Cor 1:4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
  • 2 Cor 7:9–10And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.
  • Isa 49:8This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to apportion its desolate inheritances,
  • Ps 51:12–13Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.
  • Ps 69:1–2For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David. Save me, O God, for the waters are up to my neck.
  • Rev 12:15–16Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent.
  • 1 Tim 1:16But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

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 32:6YouTube · 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 32:6 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.