And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
- KJV And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
- NKJV “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
- NASB ¶“And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
- NLT And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in 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
Turning from vanity, David asks what he can wait for and answers: his hope is in the Lord. God alone is worth hoping in.
Overview
Having seen life's emptiness, David fixes his expectation on God rather than on fleeting things. This is the pivot of the psalm from despair to faith. True hope is not in earthly gain but in the living God who endures.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rom 15:13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Ps 38:15I wait for You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.
- Ps 119:81My soul faints for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.
- Gen 49:18I await Your salvation, O LORD.
- Ps 119:166I wait for Your salvation, O LORD, and I carry out Your commandments.
- Job 13:15Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
- Ps 130:5–6I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.
- Luke 2:25Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 39:7 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.