Psalms 55:7

Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
wander	נְדֹ֑ד ne.Dod	H5074	properly · verb, qal infinitive construct
off	אַרְחִ֣יק 'ar.Chik	H7368	to widen (in any direction) · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular
remain	אָלִ֖ין 'a.Lin	H3885	to stop (usually over night) · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
wilderness	בַּמִּדְבָּ֣ר ba.mid.Bar	H4057	a pasture (i.e. open field · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Selah	סֶֽלָה Se.lah	H5542	suspension (of music) · interjection

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

Jeremiah 9:2 Oh 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…
2 Samuel 15:14 And 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: mak…
Jeremiah 37:12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.
2 Samuel 17:21-22 And 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,…
Proverbs 6:4-5 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
1 Samuel 27:1 And 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 esca…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 55:1-8

In these verses we have, I. David praying. Prayer is a salve for every sore and a relief to the spirit under every burden: Give ear to my prayer, O God! Psa 55:1, Psa 55:2. He does not set down the petitions he offered up to God in his distress, but begs that God would hear the prayers which, at every period, his heart lifted up to God, and grant an answer of peace to them: Attend to me, hear me. Saul would not hear his petitions; his other enemies regarded not his pleas; but, "Lord, be thou pleased to hearken to me. Hide not thyself from my supplication, either as one unconcerned and not regarding it, nor seeming to take any notice of it, or as one displeased, angry at me, and therefore at…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 55:7

Even a wilderness is a safer place than exposure to such evils, terrible as storm and tempest.

John Gill on Psalms 55:7

Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness,.... So David did when he fled from Absalom, 2 Samuel 15:23; so gracious souls desire to be; not in the wilderness of the people; but to be solitary as in a wilderness, clear of the company of wicked men, as Jeremiah wished for, Jeremiah 9:2; and that they might be more at leisure for and given up unto spiritual devotion, and be secure from their enemies: and as this may be applied to Christ, it shows the wickedness, cruelty, and barbarity of the men of that generation among whom he lived; that he chose rather to be in the wilderness, among wild beasts, than to dwell among them, Matthew 17:17; some apply this to the state of the p…

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John Calvin on Psalms 55:4-8

Psalm 55:4-8 4. My heart trembles within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 6. And I said, Who will give me wings like a dove? I will fly away, and be at rest. 7. Lo! I will prolong the flight, [297] I will repose in the wilderness. Selah. 8. I will hasten a deliverance for me, [298] from the wind raised by the whirlwind. 4. My heart trembles within me [299] Here we have additional evidence of the extremity of David's sufferings. He that uses these words was no soft or effeminate person, but one who had given indubitable proofs of constancy. Nor is it merely of the atrocious injuries inflicted upo…

The Church Fathers

"Behold I have gone afar fleeing, and have abode in the desert" [Psalm 55:7]. In what desert? Wherever you shall be, there will gather them together other men, the desert with you they will seek, will attach themselves to your life, you can not thrust back the society of brethren: there are mingled with you also evil men; still exercise is your due portion, "Behold I have gone afar, and have abode in the desert." In what desert? It is perchance in the conscience, whither no man enters, where no one is with you, where you are and God. For if in the desert, in any place, what will you do with men gathering themselves together? For you will not be able to be separated from mankind, so long as among men you live?
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 55

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

Dove — In their wild state doves generally build their nests in the clefts of rocks, but when domesticated “dove-cots” are prepared for them (Cant. 2:14; Jer. 48:28; Isa. 60:8). The dove was placed on the…
Neginoth — I.e., songs with instrumental accompaniment, found in the titles of Ps. 4; 6; 54; 55; 67; 76; rendered “stringed instruments,” Hab. 3:19, A.V. It denotes all kinds of stringed instruments, as the…

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 55:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 55:1-8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 55:7

John Gill on Psalms 55:7

John Calvin on Psalms 55:4-8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 55:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 55:1-8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 55:7

John Gill on Psalms 55:7

John Calvin on Psalms 55:4-8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 55:1-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 55:4-8

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 55:7