Psalms 55 · Verse 7

Psalms 55:7

Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
Psalms 55:7, King James Version

Psalms 55:7 in other translations

BSBHow far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain. Selah
WEBBehold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness.” Selah.
ASVLo, then would I wander far off, I would lodge in the wilderness. [Selah
YLTLo, I move far off, I lodge in a wilderness. Selah.
DARBYBehold, I would flee afar off, I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah;
BBEI would go wandering far away, living in the waste land. (Selah.)
WebsterLo, then I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.

What does Psalms 55:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 55:7-8
7-8. Even a wilderness is a safer place than exposure to such evils, terrible as storm and tempest.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 Would I wander far off - He did escape; and yet his enemies were so near, as to throw stones at him: but he escaped beyond Jordan. 2Sam 17:22, 2Sam 17:23. A passage in the Octavia of Seneca has been referred to as being parallel to this of David. It is in the answer of Octavia to the Chorus, Acts v., ver. 914-923. Quis mea digne deflere potest Mala? Quae lacrymis nostris quaestus Reddet Aedon? cujus pennas Utinam miserae mihi fata darent! Fugerem luctus ablata meos Penna volucri, procul et coetus Hominum tristes sedemque feram. Sola in vacuo nemore, et tenui Ramo pendens, querulo possem Gutture moestum fundere murmur. My woes who enough can bewail? O what notes can my sorrows express? Sweet Philomel's self e'en would fail To respond with her plaintive distress. O had I her wings I would fly To where sorrows I ne'er should feel more, Upborne on her plumes through the sky, Regions far from mankind would explore. In a grove where sad silence should reign, On a spray would I seat me alone; In shrill lamentations complain, And in wailings would pour forth my moan. J. B. Clarke.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 55:1-8

In these verses we have, 1. David praying. Prayer is a salve for every sore, and a relief to the spirit under every burden. 2. David weeping. Griefs are thus, in some measure, lessened, while those increase that have no vent given them. David in great alarm. We may well suppose him to be so, upon the breaking out of Absalom's conspiracy, and the falling away of the people. Horror overwhelmed him. Probably the…

Read the full comment on Psalms 55:1-8 →

Psalms 55:7 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.

הִ֭נֵּהHi.nehhere!H2009
אַרְחִ֣יק'ar.ChikI want to be far awayH7368
נְדֹ֑דne.Dod[surely] to fleeH5074
אָלִ֖ין'a.LinI want to lodgeH3885
בַּמִּדְבָּ֣רba.mid.Barin the wildernessH4057
סֶֽלָה\׃Se.lahSelahH5542

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

Cross references for Psalms 55:7

  • 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, an assembly of treacherous men.

  • 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: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.

  • 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.

  • Proverbs 6:4-5

    Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

  • 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, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you. Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.

  • 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 escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 27:1; 2Sa 15:14; 17:21,22; Pr 6:4,5; Jer 9:2; 37:12

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

Context

  • Psalms 55:6

    And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

  • Psalms 55:7

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

  • Psalms 55:8

    I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

Read all of Psalms 55

Psalms 55:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ciertamente huiría lejos: moraría en el desierto. (Selah.)
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et j’ai dit: Oh! si j’avais des ailes comme une colombe, je m’envolerais et je demeurerais tranquille;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Siehe, weithin entflöhe ich, würde weilen in der Wüste.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Inhabitabunt, et abscondent; ipsi calcaneum meum observabunt. Sicut sustinuerunt animam meam,