Limitless Word
For in you, Yahweh, do I hope. You will answer, Lord my God.
Psalms 38:15 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
  • BSB I wait for You, O LORD; You will answer, 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 39:7Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
  • Ps 17:6I have called on you, for you will answer me, God. Turn your ear to me. Hear my speech.
  • Ps 138:3In the day that I called, you answered me. You encouraged me with strength in my soul.
  • Ps 123:1–3A Song of Ascents. To you I do lift up my eyes, you who sit in the heavens.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 38:15YouTube · 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 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.