I wait for You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.
Parallel translations
- WEB For in you, Yahweh, do I hope. You will answer, Lord my God.
- KJV For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
- NKJV For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.
- NASB For I wait for You, Lord; You will answer, Lord my God.
- NLT For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God.
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 explains his silence: his hope rests in the Lord, who alone will answer for him. Trust in God replaces self-defense.
Overview
This verse turns the psalm toward hope; David's quietness flows from confidence that God will respond. He addresses Him as 'Lord my God,' a covenant appeal. Genuine faith waits on God to vindicate rather than grasping at human means.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ps 39:7And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
- Ps 17:6I call on You, O God, for You will answer me. Incline Your ear to me; hear my words.
- Ps 138:3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.
- Ps 123:1–3A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 38:15 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.