I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah.
- KJV I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
- NKJV I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah
- NASB When I remember God, then I am restless; When I sigh, then my spirit feels weak. Selah
- NLT I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. 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
When Asaph remembers God he groans, and meditation leaves his spirit overwhelmed.
Overview
Strikingly, even thinking about God brings groaning rather than immediate relief, for Asaph cannot reconcile his pain with God's past goodness. His honest lament shows that genuine faith can wrestle with deep anguish. The Selah invites a pause to feel the weight of this struggle, which the psalm will not leave unresolved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 61:2From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
- Ps 142:2–3I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him.
- Job 31:23For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.
- Job 7:11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
- Ps 102:3–28For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.
- Job 23:15–16Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I fear Him.
- Ps 55:4–5My heart murmurs within me, and the terrors of death assail me.
- Ps 42:11Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Jer 17:17Do not become a terror to me; You are my refuge in the day of disaster.
- Ps 43:5Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Ps 42:5Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.
- Job 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Lam 3:39Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
- Ps 143:4–5My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me.
- Lam 3:17My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
- Ps 88:3–18For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 77:3 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.