Psalms 27:13 · Bible study
Psalms 27:13 Commentary: Seeing God's Goodness in This Life
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
This verse captures David's faith amid danger. Commentators debate whether he speaks of present confidence or past trust that prevented fainting.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The psalmist declares (or implies) that his faith in seeing God’s goodness in this life is what keeps him from fainting under enemy attack.
- Key words: לולא (unless), הֶאֱמַנְתִּי (I believed, perfect tense), טוּב (goodness, abstract), אֶרֶץ חַיִּים (land of the living, i.e., this life).
- Main debate: Whether the verse expresses a present confident hope (WEB, BSB) or a past trust that prevented despair (KJV, ASV, aposiopesis view).
- Theological theme: Faith that sustains in the present trial, focused on experiencing God’s covenant goodness before death.
- Best use: Comfort for those in distress; preaching on perseverance and hope in this life.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
WEB World English Bible 2000
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.
KJV King James Version 1769
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah In the land of the living.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
I had not believed to look on the goodness of Jehovah In the land of the living!
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah in the land of the living...!
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Hubiera yo desmayado, si no creyese que tengo de ver la bondad de Jehová en la tierra de los vivientes.
Se eu não tivesse crido que veria a bondade do SENHOR na terra dos viventes, certamente já teria perecido .
Oh! Si je n’étais pas sûr de voir la bonté de l’ Éternel
Ich glaube aber doch, daß ich sehen werde das Gute des HERRN im Lande der Lebendigen.
Zo ik niet had geloofd, dat ik het goede des HEEREN zou zien in het land der levenden, ik ware vergaan.
Ah! se non avessi avuto fede di veder la bontà dell’Eterno sulla terra de’ viventi!…
Bym był nie wierzył, że mam oglądać dobroć Pańską w ziemi żyjących, źleby o mnie było.
我若不 信 在活人 之地 得見 耶和華 的恩惠，就早已喪膽了。
I had almost given up my hope of seeing the blessing of the Lord in the land of the living.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 27:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Psalm 27:13 sits at the emotional peak of the psalm. The Hebrew opens with לוּלֵא (lu.le', “unless” or “if not”) followed by a perfect verb הֶאֱמַנְתִּי (he'emanti, “I believed”). This creates an incomplete sentence, an aposiopesis, where the outcome is left unstated. Barnes and Gill see the supplied line “I had fainted” as the true sense: David’s faith was the only thing that kept him from collapse. Keil & Delitzsch note that the perfect here functions as a present: “were faith not preserved to me … then I would perish.” Calvin reads the verse as David fortifying himself beforehand against trials, not looking back. All agree that the object of faith is “to see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living”, that is, to experience God’s favour in this life, not only in the afterlife. The Cambridge Bible glosses “to see” as carrying the sense of enjoyment. Whether expressed as a past condition or a present conviction, the psalmist’s trust that he will witness God’s goodness sustains him through the threat of enemies.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Present confident hope: Reads the Hebrew as an assertion of present faith (WEB, BSB); the verb form can carry present meaning (Keil & Delitzsch). No apodosis needed.
- Past faith preventing fainting: Takes the aposiopesis at face value: “Unless I had believed … [I would have fainted]. The perfect verb is retrospective; KJV, ASV, Barnes, Gill follow this.
What is clear: Regardless of the syntactic decision, the psalmist’s core conviction is that he will experience God’s goodness in this life, and that conviction sustains him in mortal danger.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Hebrew syntax and supplied apodosis | The Hebrew has לולא + perfect, forming an incomplete sentence (aposiopesis) that requires a supplied conclusion. | Older commentators (KJV, Barnes, Gill) supply “I had fainted”; some modern translations (WEB, BSB) restructure the verse as a confident statement of present faith, effectively removing the conditional. Both readings respect the broken syntax, but decide differently on what is left unspoken. |
| Meaning of “land of the living” | The phrase consistently in the Old Testament refers to this present earthly life, not the afterlife (Ps 116:9; Is 38:11; Job 28:13). | The Targum already paraphrases it as “land of everlasting life,” showing an early interpretive shift toward eschatology. Some Christian readings apply the verse to heaven, while historical-critical commentators insist on the original this-worldly sense. |
| Object of faith: “see goodness” | The verb “see” (רָאָה) here means to experience or enjoy, not merely to look at (cf. Ps 22:17). | Whether “goodness” refers primarily to providential deliverance (Barnes, Calvin) or to spiritual blessings and covenant favour (Gill, Matthew Henry). Both agree it includes protection from enemies. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 27 is attributed to David. Many scholars place its composition during the period of persecution by King Saul (1 Samuel 18, 31) or the rebellion of Absalom (2 Samuel 15, 18). The surrounding verses bring the setting into focus: false witnesses breathe out cruelty (v.12), enemies encamp around him (v.3), and David cries out for God not to hide His face (v.9). The “land of the living” in the Old Testament regularly contrasts with Sheol, the realm of the dead. It means this present earthly life, where God’s covenant blessings, protection, provision, vindication, are experienced. Cross-references such as Psalm 116:9 (“I will walk before Yahweh in the land of the living”) and Psalm 56:13 confirm this meaning.
Israel before the exile had only a shadowy hope of an afterlife; the full weight of reward and punishment fell within this world. So when David speaks of seeing “the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,” he expects deliverance, restoration to worship at the temple (v.4), and public vindication from his enemies. The phrase “see” (רָאָה, ra'ah) here means to experience or enjoy (cf. Psalm 22:17). The danger is real, his life is threatened, and his faith is anything but theoretical. The broken syntax of the verse itself mirrors the emotion: the psalmist is so overwhelmed that his sentence trails off. His confidence does not erase the pain; it holds him upright.
Textual Notes
The word לוּלֵא (“unless”) is marked with upper and lower dots in the Masoretic text, signaling a possible scribal suspicion about its authenticity (Cambridge Bible; cf. B. Berachoth 4a). The Septuagint reads differently enough to suggest a lost apodosis. No other significant textual variants appear in the consulted sources. The overall meaning is stable despite the syntactic break.
Reception History
Early Jewish tradition, reflected in the Targum, already read “the land of the living” as “the land of everlasting life,” steering the verse toward the hope of resurrection and the world to come. Christian interpreters across centuries have found in this verse a model of faith under duress: Augustine cited it to encourage perseverance; the Reformers (Calvin, Luther) drew on it for comfort amid persecution. In later evangelical tradition, the verse became a staple of funeral liturgies and hymns about heaven, even though the Old Testament sense points to this life. The tension between its original meaning and its later use shows how Scripture can speak beyond its immediate context without losing its grounding. The verse continues to be sung in settings where believers hold onto hope in the face of death.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The grammar of faith. The verse is a broken sentence (aposiopesis). David does not finish his thought, he cannot. Faith is not a polished creed but a grip that keeps you from falling when words fail.
- The content of faith. “I will see the goodness of Yahweh.” David expects to experience God’s favour in this life. His hope is not just for heaven but for God’s help in the present mess.
- The context of faith. False witnesses and cruel enemies surround him (v.12). His confidence does not come from a safe situation but from a conviction that God remains good.
Five-point outline
- The threat: enemies who “breathe out cruelty” (v.12).
- The internal danger: fainting, despair, loss of courage (implied by the aposiopesis).
- The anchor: belief that he will “see the goodness of the LORD.”
- The location: “the land of the living”, this world, not just the next.
- The result: waiting on the Lord with strength (v.14).
Illustration hooks
- A person in hospital, waiting for biopsy results. They cannot fix the situation; they can only hold onto a promise from Scripture or a past experience of God’s care. That quiet trust is the aposiopesis of faith.
- A parent whose adult child has walked away from the family. They pray, they wait, they hope to “see goodness” in that child’s life again. The sentence feels incomplete, but they keep believing.
- An elder in a declining church, watching members leave and doors close. He or she does not have a neat five-year plan, only the conviction that God’s goodness will show up somewhere.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “Is it okay to admit I’m barely holding on, like David’s unfinished sentence?”
- “How do I stay confident when I pray and nothing seems to change?”
- “Does God’s goodness mean He will fix my problems, or is it something deeper?”
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 27:13 appears in a context of attack from enemies and desperate prayer. David’s words are emotionally raw, his sentence breaks off. This study helps a group explore how faith works when life is unfinished and answers are slow in coming.
Discussion questions
- Read verses 11, 14 aloud. What emotions do you hear in the words? Where does the mood shift?
- The Hebrew at verse 13 is literally “Unless I had believed …” with no ending. Why do you think the psalmist left the sentence incomplete? What does this tell you about his state of mind?
- What does “see the goodness of the LORD” mean to David in his situation? Does he mean a future life or something in this world? Use Psalm 116:9 and Psalm 56:13 to help answer.
- How does David’s faith here compare to his faith in Psalm 42:5, where he also talks to his own soul?
- Have you ever felt like your faith was an “unfinished sentence”, real but not neatly concluded? Describe that experience without giving too much detail.
- Verse 14 follows with “Wait on the LORD.” How does the waiting connect to the seeing of verse 13? Is waiting always passive?
- What would it look like for you to “see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” this week? Name one concrete hope you can hold onto.
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)
| Job 28:13 | Man doesn’t know its price, and it isn’t found in the land of the living. |
| Job 33:30 | to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living. |
| Psalms 31:19 | Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have worked for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men! |
| Psalms 42:5 | Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence. |
| Psalms 52:5 | God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah. |
| Psalms 56:3 | When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. |
| Psalms 56:13 | For you have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living. |
| Psalms 116:9 | I will walk before Yahweh in the land of the living. |
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
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke argues that the inserted words "I had fainted" ruin the verse's rhetorical force. The original Hebrew uses aposiopesis, a sudden breaking off mid-sentence, which powerfully conveys the psalmist's overwhelming emotion. Preserving that abrupt pause is more elegant than supplying missing words.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that the psalmist's only support against overwhelming enemies was his faith in God, a deep conviction that he would still see God's goodness while alive on earth. Though the psalmist does not explain the source of this confidence, it was enough to sustain him through his trial.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that David wrote this psalm not simply to give thanks after being rescued, but to arm his own heart in advance against crushing doubts and fears. The opening words are self-talk: David gathers every reason for courage before the battle even begins, showing that faith must deliberately fortify itself against the flesh's tendency to waver.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary notes that the phrase "in the land of the living" refers to ordinary earthly life, not to heaven as often assumed. The editors also observe that the word "unless" is likely a later addition, so the line expresses confident hope of seeing God's goodness in this present world.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights that faith alone kept the psalmist from despair: the certainty of seeing God’s goodness in this present life, not only in the next, was what prevented him from fainting under trial.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points out that the words "I had fainted" are not in the original Hebrew; translators supplied them because a break in the text needs filling. He cites several Jewish interpreters' alternatives and suggests the phrase from Psalm 119:92: "I should then have perished in mine affliction." For Gill, faith in God's goodness — both providential and spiritual, ending in eternal life — is the cure for fainting.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the original sentence is grammatically incomplete, a deliberate break that shows intense emotion. He defines "to see" as meaning "to experience," and highlights the contrast between the psalmist's faith and the danger surrounding him.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argue that verse 13 is left deliberately incomplete, the conclusion unspoken but implied through a grammatical break. The psalmist speaks of present faith held amid ongoing danger, not a past belief. Then in verse 14 he addresses himself, the believing half of his soul encouraging the weaker half to be strong.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights that David draws his confidence not from his own merit but from God's prior invitation to seek His face. Unable to access the temple, David still finds the throne of grace through prayer, reverently laying hold of the golden scepter God extends.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that David's eager desire for God's mercy in this life was not because he looked to earthly things as his reward. Instead, David was concerned for God's own truth and glory, which were at stake in fulfilling the promise of the kingdom to him.