Psalms 5:1

Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
ear	הַאֲזִ֥ינָה ha.'a.Zi.nah	H238	to broaden out the ear (with the hand) · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + paragogic he
words	אֲמָרַ֖י 'a.ma.Rai	H561	something said · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
LORD	יְהוָ֗ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
consider	בִּ֣ינָה Bi.nah	H995	to separate mentally (or distinguish) · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + paragogic he
meditation	הֲגִֽיגִי ha.Gi.gi	H1901	properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
Psalms 54:2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalms 55:1-2 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do…
Psalms 64:1 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Psalms 17:1 Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
Psalms 86:1 Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 5:1-6

The title of this psalm has nothing in it peculiar but that it is said to be upon Nehiloth, a word nowhere else used. It is conjectured (and it is but a conjecture) that is signifies wind - instruments, with which this psalm was sung, as Neginoth was supposed to signify the stringed - instruments. In these verses David had an eye to God, I. As a prayer-hearing God; such he has always been ever since men began to call upon the name of the Lord, and yet is still as ready to hear prayer as ever. Observe how David here styles him: O Lord (Psa 5:1, Psa 5:3), Jehovah, a self-existent, self-sufficient, Being, whom we are bound to adore, and, "my King and my God (Psa 5:2), whom I have avouched for m…

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John Gill on Psalms 5:1

Give ear to my words, O Lord,.... Meaning not his words in common conversation, but in prayer; the words which came out of his mouth, and were audibly expressed by him at the throne of grace, and design vocal prayer; and so stand distinguished from the meditation of his heart, sacred ejaculations, or mental prayer; see Psalm 54:2; and words in prayer to God ought to be few, at least not repeated, Ecclesiastes 5:2; and these should be a man's own words, as were the psalmist's; not what were suggested by another, or written in a book before him, but what were of his own composing and putting together, under the direction of the Spirit of God; who put words into his mouth, and furnished him bot…

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John Calvin on Psalms 5:1-2

Psalm 5:1-2 1. Give ear unto my words, O Jehovah; attend to my speech. 2. Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King and my God: for unto thee will Ipray. I presume not positively to determine whether David, in this psalm, bewails the wrongs which he suffered from his enemies at some particular time, or whether he complains generally of the various persecutions with which, for a long time, he was harassed under Saul. Some of the Jewish commentators apply the psalm even to Absalom; because, by the bloody and deceitful man, they think Doeg and Ahithophel are pointed out. To me, however, it appears more probable, that when David, after the death of Saul, had got peaceable possession of the kingd…

The Church Fathers

Because of grace this hymn is sung, in behalf of the individual spirit or for the church called out for the divine inheritance, not a natural one but a spiritual one.
— Didymus the Blind, FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 5:1

If you say, "Give ear to my words," utter those words that come from a gentle and loving person, containing nothing of the devil.… A supplicant, in fact, does not employ the language of an accuser.
— John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 5:2-3

Give ear to my words, O Lord. No one has this confidence except the Church. He who is a sinner has not dared to say, Give ear to my words, O Lord. He who is angry and curses has not dared to say, Give ear to my words, O Lord; but he wishes rather that God would close His ears.
— Jerome, Homily 2, on Psalm 5

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Nehiloth — Only in the title of Ps. 5. It is probably derived from a root meaning “to bore,” “perforate,” and hence denotes perforated wind instruments of all kinds. The psalm may be thus regarded as addressed…
Blasphemy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Prayer · .Silent — .Silent
Prayerfulness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 5:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 5:1-6

John Gill on Psalms 5:1

John Calvin on Psalms 5:1-2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 5:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 5:1-6

John Gill on Psalms 5:1

John Calvin on Psalms 5:1-2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 5:1-3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 5:1-2

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 5:1