Psalms 106:47 · Bible study
Psalms 106:47 Commentary: The Goal of Salvation
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Psalm 106:47 prays for rescue from exile, but the purpose is worship. An exegetical study on why salvation leads to giving thanks and glorying in God.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A prayer for salvation and gathering from exile, with the explicit purpose of giving thanks and glorying in God’s praise.
- Key words: ‘Save’ (H3467 yashaʿ), ‘gather’ (H6908 qavats), ‘give thanks’ (H3034 yadah), ‘triumph’ (H7623 hishˌtabeˈach, reflexive), ‘holy name’ (H6944 + H8034), ‘praise’ (H8416 tehillah).
- Main debate: Date of composition, Davidic (based on 1 Chronicles 16:35) or exilic (based on the language of being ‘gathered from among the nations’).
- Theological theme: Salvation’s ultimate purpose is doxology; God redeems a people for his own praise.
- Best use: In teaching the relationship between confession, petition, and worship; in sermons on the ends of salvation; as a model for prayer that centers on God’s glory.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise!
KJV King James Version 1769
Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Save us, O Jehovah our God, And gather us from among the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name, And to triumph in thy praise.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Save us, O Jehovah our God, and gather us from the nations, To give thanks to Thy holy name, To glory in Thy praise.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Save us, Jehovah our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks unto thy holy name, [and] to triumph in thy praise.
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Sálvanos, Jehová Dios nuestro, y júntanos de entre las gentes, para que loemos tu santo nombre, para que nos gloriemos en tus alabanzas.
Salva-nos, SENHOR nosso Deus, e ajunta-nos dentre as nações, para darmos graças ao teu santo nome, e termos orgulho em louvar a ti.
Sauve-nous, Éternel, notre Dieu!
Hilf uns, HERR, unser Gott, und bringe uns zusammen aus den Heiden, daß wir danken deinem heiligen Namen und rühmen dein Lob.
Verlos ons, HEERE, onze God! en verzamel ons uit de heidenen, opdat wij den Naam Uwer heiligheid loven, ons beroemende in Uw lof.
Salvaci, o Eterno, Iddio nostro, e raccoglici di fra le nazioni, affinché celebriamo il tuo santo nome, e mettiamo la nostra gloria nel lodarti.
Wybawże nas, Panie, Boże nasz! a zgromadź nas z tych pogan, abyśmy wysławiali imię świętobliwości twojej, a chlubili się w chwale twojej.
耶和華─我們的 神啊，求你拯救我們，從 外邦 中招聚我們，我們好稱讚 你的聖 名，以讚美你 為誇勝。
Be our saviour, O Lord our God, and let us come back together from among the nations, so that we may give honour to your holy name, and have glory in your praise.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 106:47
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions read this verse as the climactic prayer of Psalm 106. After a long confession of national sin (vv. 6, 46), the psalmist pleads for salvation and gathering from the nations. Barnes notes that the wording implies the nation was in captivity, and the purpose is to praise God in the sanctuary. Cambridge Bible calls this prayer “the point to which the long confession of national sin has been leading up.” Gill sees it as a prayer of faith, acknowledging that only God can save. The two purpose clauses, ‘to give thanks to your holy name’ and ‘to triumph in your praise’, are not afterthoughts. Keil and Delitzsch explain that the second verb (hishˌtabeˈach) is reflexive, meaning “to boast oneself happy” in praising God. Clarke adds that these words appear in the hymn sung at the ark’s transport (1 Chronicles 16:35), but their natural place is this exile setting. All agree: the ultimate goal of rescue is worship. Salvation is not an end in itself; it leads to the praise of God’s holy name.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Exilic composition: The phrasing 'gather us from among the nations' fits a dispersed people (Barnes, Lange).
- Davidic composition with liturgical reuse: The verse appears in 1 Chronicles 16:35, set in David's time; Calvin and Gill argue the psalm is earlier than the exile.
- Later liturgical insertion: Some scholars suggest v. 47, along with vv. 1 and 48, may have been added for liturgical use, given the doxological frame.
What is clear: The prayer asks God for salvation and gathering from dispersion, with the explicit purpose of giving thanks and glorying in his praise—this purpose shapes the meaning of the request.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Date of composition | The verse is a prayer for rescue and restoration, likely used in post-exilic worship. | Some commentators (Calvin, Gill) see Davidic origin because the verse appears in 1 Chronicles 16:35; others (Barnes, Lange, Clarke) argue for exilic composition due to the language of being scattered among the nations. |
| Meaning of 'triumph in your praise' | It refers to joyful boasting or glorying in God, a positive response to salvation. | Some see it as simply 'rejoicing' (Barnes, Cambridge), while Keil & Delitzsch emphasize the reflexive force: 'to account oneself happy' in praising God, implying a self-conscious joy that declares God's worth. |
| Nature of the salvation requested | It includes physical deliverance and return from exile. | Gill stresses a spiritual salvation 'by faith,' while Barnes and Cambridge focus on the historical return to the land and temple. Both see a literal gathering, but Gill adds a typological layer for Christian readers. |
| Relationship to 1 Chronicles 16:35 | The same words appear there; the verse had liturgical use. | Some hold that the chronicler quotes an existing exilic psalm for David's mouth; others maintain David wrote it and the later exile gave it fresh resonance. The direction of dependence is debated. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 106 belongs to the fourth book of the Psalter (90, 106). It opens with ‘Hallelujah’ and closes with a doxology (v. 48). The body of the psalm recounts Israel’s rebellions from Egypt through the wilderness to the land, a pattern of sin, judgment, and mercy. Verses 40, 46 describe God handing his people over to the nations, then hearing their cry and remembering his covenant. Verse 47 then erupts as the prayer that this same covenant faithfulness would act again. The request to be gathered ‘from the nations’ reflects the reality of exile, Israel scattered among hostile peoples after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC.
The verse’s appearance in 1 Chronicles 16:35 complicates the date. In that chapter, David appoints a song for the ark’s arrival in Jerusalem. Calvin and others therefore argue for Davidic authorship, viewing v. 47 as a prayer for any future deliverance. But Barnes, Lange, and Clarke, citing the same language, see it as composed during or after the exile, with the earlier Davidic context being a later liturgical adaptation. The chronicler likely took an existing psalm and set it in David’s mouth for worship. Regardless of origin, by the post-exilic period this verse became a staple of penitential prayer. Its pairing of confession and plea reflects the liturgy of the second temple, where God’s people, still a small remnant under foreign rule, sang for full restoration. The ‘holy name’ points to the temple in Jerusalem, where thanks were offered. To be gathered is to return to the place of God’s presence.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 106:47. The verse is stable across Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. The parallel in 1 Chronicles 16:35 reads ‘Save us, God of our salvation!’ instead of ‘Save us, Yahweh, our God,’ and adds ‘and deliver us from the nations.’ These differences reflect the chronicler’s adaptation of the verse into a broader liturgical context, not a variant in the psalm itself. The reading ‘to triumph in your praise’ (lehishˈtabeach bitˈhilatecha) is unique to this verse in the Hebrew Bible and is well attested.
Reception History
Psalm 106 as a whole, and this verse in particular, has been used in Jewish penitential prayer (viddui) from the second temple period onward. The Book of Chronicles already testifies to its liturgical place (1 Chronicles 16:35), and the doxology in v. 48 marks the end of Book IV of the Psalter, confirming its use in temple worship. In Christian tradition, the prayer for gathering from the nations has been understood as a type of the ingathering of Gentiles into the church. Early and medieval interpreters saw in v. 47 a prophecy of the salvation brought by Christ, who gathers the dispersed and leads them to give thanks at the heavenly altar. The verse appears in many lectionaries for penitential seasons, reminding believers that the goal of every rescue is the praise of God’s holy name. Its pairing of confession and petition continues to shape corporate prayers of lament and hope.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Cry: ‘Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations.’ The prayer assumes danger and dispersion. Only God can gather what is scattered.
- The Goal: ‘to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.’ Rescue is not for comfort but for worship. The purpose clause defines salvation’s end.
- The Confidence: Psalm 106 anchors this plea in the covenant (v. 45) and the character of God. He has heard before; he will hear again.
Five-point outline
- Desperate need: Exile is the consequence of sin, but not the final word (vv. 40, 43).
- Divine deliverance: God saves because he remembers his covenant (vv. 44, 45).
- Divine gathering: The verb qavats (gather) reverses the scattering of judgment (see Jeremiah 32:37).
- Devoted worship: ‘Give thanks’ (yadah) includes confession and praise. ‘Triumph’ (hishˌtabeˈach) means to boast joyfully in God’s praise.
- Doxological living: The verse ends in praise, and v. 48 confirms it: ‘Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel…’ All people say, ‘Amen.’
Illustration hooks
- A family scattered across different cities at reunites for a holiday. The journey is hard, but the shared meal and remembrance make it worth it. The psalmist wants the same: God’s people brought home to give thanks.
- A refugee who finally receives asylum says, ‘Now I can go to church freely.’ The psalmist’s first thought after deliverance is not safety but sanctuary.
- Someone completing a big project doesn’t just stop; they present it, celebrate, give credit. The purpose clause shows that salvation is presented back to God in praise.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If sin caused exile, does God really want us back? (The covenant faithfulness says yes.)
- Why isn’t rescue enough? Why must we worship? (Because giving thanks is the purpose of being saved.)
- What does it look like to ‘triumph in praise’ in everyday life? (It means our joys and boasts are centered on God’s character.)
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 106:47 is a prayer that does not stop with asking for help. It tells God why we want to be saved: so that we can give thanks and glory in his praise. This opens up a key question: what is the purpose of salvation? Discuss how this verse reshapes our understanding of rescue, both for Israel and for us.
Discussion questions
- What does the psalmist ask for? (List the verbs: save, gather.) Who is he asking, and why does he include ‘our God’?
- The phrase ‘give thanks to your holy name’ uses the same Hebrew root (yadah) that means ‘confess.’ How might confession and praise be connected?
- The second purpose clause uses a rare reflexive verb: ‘to triumph/praise’ or ‘boast in your praise.’ Why would the psalmist make himself the object of the verb? What does that say about our posture in worship?
- Read 1 Chronicles 16:35. How does the context there differ from Psalm 106? Does the change in setting change the meaning of the verse?
- How does the surrounding passage (vv. 40, 46) set up this prayer? What has God already done, and what still needs to happen?
- The psalm confesses sin for many verses before reaching v. 47. Why might the psalmist wait so long to ask for deliverance?
- What would it mean for your own prayers to include a clear purpose: ‘I ask for this so that I can praise you’? How might that change what you ask for?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Chronicles 16:35 | Say, “Save us, God of our salvation! Gather us together and deliver us from the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.” |
| I Chronicles 16:36 | Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. All the people said, “Amen,” and praised Yahweh. |
| Psalms 14:7 | Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. |
| Psalms 107:1 | Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. |
| Psalms 107:3 | and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. |
| Psalms 126:1 | A Song of Ascents. When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream. |
| Psalms 147:2 | Yahweh builds up Jerusalem. He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. |
| Jeremiah 32:37 | “Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again to this place. I will cause them to dwell safely. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke connects this plea to gather Israel to the hymn sung when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, though he suggests Ezra or another later prophet may have added these words. At the dedication of the second temple only a small remnant had returned from exile, making the prayer deeply fitting for that moment.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes reads this as a prayer born during Israel's captivity or dispersion, when the people were scattered among hostile nations. The request is for God to repeat what He had done before: gather His people back to their own land, where they could worship Him publicly and rejoice in His praise.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin observes that Psalm 106 is not primarily a reproof or complaint against Israel, but a confession of sins aimed at obtaining pardon. The psalm begins with praise to encourage hope, then acknowledges that God's people repeatedly abused his kindness, making them unworthy of continued blessing—so the writer asks forgiveness.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible editors see this verse as the high point of a long confession of national sin. The plea for restoration is not just for relief, but so that Israel can fulfill its very purpose: giving thanks to the Lord. His praise is the end and object of Israel's existence.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses that salvation and gathering from the nations are not ends in themselves. Their purpose is twofold: to give God public praise and to take joy in that very act of praising Him. Deliverance is directed toward worship, and worship becomes the believer's glory.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that this prayer for deliverance openly admits what every human being must acknowledge: no one can save themselves, and no created power can rescue them. Only the Lord is both willing and able. The call to be gathered from the nations is a cry to be brought home to worship and boast in God's saving work alone.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch highlight the distinctive reflexive verb here, meaning to count oneself happy to praise God. The Psalmist reaches his goal through self-accusation and praise of God's faithfulness, finding joy not just in praising but in the ability to do so. This reflexive form, rare in biblical Hebrew but common in Aramaic, underscores a self-conscious gladness in worship.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry observes that Israel's conduct in Canaan was exactly like their behavior in the wilderness: they provoked God, yet He repeatedly delivered them. God's dealings with them consistently displayed both justice and mercy, punishing their rebellion but relenting when they cried out because He remembered His covenant.