Psalms 30:3

3 ADONAI, you lifted me up from Sh'ol; you kept me alive when I was sinking into a pit.

Psalms 30:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 30:3

O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave
When his life being in danger, was near unto it, ( Job 33:22 Job 33:28 ) ; otherwise the soul dies not, nor does it lie and sleep in the grave; or "thou hast brought up my soul from hell" ^F13; that is, delivered him from those horrors of conscience and terrors of mind, by reason of sin, which were as hell itself unto him; see ( Psalms 116:3 ) ( Jonah 2:4 ) ;

thou hast kept me alive:
preserved his corporeal life when in danger, and maintained his spiritual life; and quickened him by his word, under all his afflictions, and kept him from utter and black despair;

that I should not go down to the pit;
either of the grave or hell. There is in this clause a "Keri" and a "Cetib"; a marginal reading, and a textual writing: according to the latter it is, "from them that go down to the pit"; which some versions ^F14 follow; that is, thou hast preserved me from going along with them, and being where and as they are: our version follows the former; the sense is the same.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 (lwav Nm) "ab inferno", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.
F14 So Sept. V. L. Pagninus, Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis, Ainsworth.

Psalms 30:3 In-Context

1 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the house. By David: I will exalt you, ADONAI, because you drew me up; you didn't let my enemies rejoice over me.

2 ADONAI my God, I cried out to you, and you provided healing for me.

3 ADONAI, you lifted me up from Sh'ol; you kept me alive when I was sinking into a pit.

4 Sing praise to ADONAI, you faithful of his; and give thanks on recalling his holiness.

5 For his anger is momentary, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Tears may linger for the night, but with dawn come cries of joy.