How far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness.” Selah.
- KJV Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
- NKJV Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah
- NASB “Behold, I would flee far away, I would spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah
- NLT I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude
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 imagines wandering far off to lodge in the wilderness. It continues his yearning to flee from conflict to solitude.
Overview
He pictures himself escaping to a remote wilderness, away from the city's strife. The wilderness, often a place of refuge in David's life, represents distance from his tormentors. The 'Selah' invites the reader to pause and feel the weight of his longing for peace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 9:2If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
- 2 Sam 15:14And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.”
- Jer 37:12Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.
- 2 Sam 17:21–22After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well and went to inform King David, saying, “Get up and cross over the river at once, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”
- Prov 6:4–5Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.
- 1 Sam 27:1David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
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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 55:7 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.