Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness.” Selah.
- BSB How far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain. 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 9:2Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
- 2 Sam 15:14And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
- Jer 37:12Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.
- 2 Sam 17:21–22And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.
- Prov 6:4–5Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
- 1 Sam 27:1And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape 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
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