Psalms 107 · Verse 10

Psalms 107:10

Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

Psalms 107:10, King James Version

Psalms 107:10 in other translations

BSB	Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,
WEB	Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,
ASV	Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Being bound in affliction and iron,
YLT	Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron,
DARBY	Such as inhabit darkness and the shadow of death, bound in affliction and iron,
BBE	Those who were in the dark, in the black night, in chains of sorrow and iron;
Webster	Such as sit in darkness and in the shades of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

What does Psalms 107:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 107:10-16

10-16. Their sufferings were for their rebellion against (Psa 105:28) the words, or purposes, or promises, of God for their benefit. When humbled they cry to God, who delivers them from bondage, described as a dark dungeon with doors and bars of metal, in which they are bound in iron--that is, chains and fetters. shadow of death--darkness with danger (Psa 23:4).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 10 Such as sit in darkness - Here begins the Second similitude, which he uses to illustrate the state of the captives in Babylon viz., that of a prisoner in a dreary dungeon. 1. They sit in or inhabit darkness. They have no light, no peace, no prosperity. 2. "In the shadow of death." The place where death reigns, over which he has projected his shadow; those against whom the sentence of death has been pronounced. 3. They are bound in this darkness, have no liberty to revisit the light, and cannot escape from their executioners. 4. They are afflicted, not only by want and privation in general, but they are tortured in the prison, עני oni, afflicted, humbled, distressed. 5. Their fetters are such as they cannot break; they are iron. The reason of their being in this wretched state is given.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 107:10-16

This description of prisoners and captives intimates that they are desolate and sorrowful. In the eastern prisons the captives were and are treated with much severity. Afflicting providences must be improved as humbling providences; and we lose the benefit, if our hearts are unhumbled and unbroken under them. This is a shadow of the sinner's deliverance from a far worse confinement. The awakened sinner discovers his guilt and misery. Having struggled in vain for deliverance, he finds there is no help for him but in the mercy and grace of God. His sin is forgiven by a merciful God, and his pardon is accompanied by deliverance from the power of sin and Satan, and by the sanctifying and comforting influences of God the Holy Spirit.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Psalms 107:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יֹ֭שְׁבֵיYo.she.vei[those who] sat ofH3427

חֹ֣שֶׁךְCho.shekhdarknessH2822

וְצַלְמָ֑וֶתve.tzal.Ma.vetand deep darknessH6757

אֲסִירֵ֖י'a.si.Reiprisoners ofH615

עֳנִ֣י'o.NiafflictionH6040

וּבַרְזֶֽל\׃u.var.Zeland ironH1270

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 107:10

Luke 1:79
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Micah 7:8
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.
Matthew 4:16
The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Isaiah 42:7
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Romans 6:20-21
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Matthew 22:13
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Psalms 105:18
Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
Job 36:8-9
And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction; Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.
Exodus 2:23-24
And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
Lamentations 3:6-7
He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
Job 3:5
Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
2 Chronicles 33:11
Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Such.Here begins the second comparison; in which the state of the captives in Babylon is illustrated by that of prisoners in a dreary dungeon.
as sit.
Job 3:5; Isa 9:2; Mt 4:16; 22:13; Lu 1:79
bound.
105:18; Ex 2:23,24; 2Ch 33:11; Job 36:8,9; La 3:6,7; Ro 6:20,21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Psalms 107:9
For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Psalms 107:10
Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
Psalms 107:11
Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:

Read all of Psalms 107

Psalms 107:10 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Los que moraban en tinieblas y sombra de muerte, aprisionados en aflicción y en hierros;
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Ceux qui habitent dans les ténèbres et dans l’ombre de la mort, liés d’affliction et de fers,
German Elberfelder 1871	Die Bewohner der Finsternis und des Todesschattens, gefesselt in Elend und Eisen:
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Moab lebes spei meæ: in Idumæam extendam calceamentum meum; mihi alienigenæ amici facti sunt.