Psalms 78:37 · Bible study
Psalms 78:37 Commentary: The Heart Not Right with God
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
This verse exposes the gap between outward religious acts and inward loyalty, showing that covenant faithfulness requires a steadfast heart, not just
Research Summary
- Meaning: The heart’s disloyalty is the root of covenant unfaithfulness; outward acts cannot compensate for a heart not right with God.
- Key words: nāḵôn (steadfast, prepared, firm) and ne'emanu (faithful, reliable, carried along).
- Main debate: Minimal; the verse clearly diagnoses a heart condition, though traditions differ on whether the heart can be changed by human effort or solely by divine grace.
- Theological theme: The internal condition matters more than external acts; God desires truth in the inward being.
- Best use: A diagnostic passage for examining motives in worship, repentance, and covenant relationship.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
WEB World English Bible 2000
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant.
KJV King James Version 1769
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
For their heart was not right with him, Neither were they faithful in his covenant.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And their heart hath not been right with Him, And they have not been stedfast in His covenant.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Pues sus corazones no eran rectos con él, ni estuvieron firmes en su pacto.
Porque o coração deles não era comprometido para com ele, e não foram fiéis ao pacto dele.
Leur cœur n’ était pas ferme envers lui,
aber ihr Herz war nicht fest an ihm, und hielten nicht treulich an seinem Bund.
Want hun hart was niet recht met Hem, en zij waren niet getrouw in Zijn verbond.
Il loro cuore non era diritto verso lui, e non eran fedeli al suo patto.
A serce ich nie było szczere przed nim, ani wiernymi byli w przymierzu jego.)
因他們的心 向他 不 正，在他的約上 也不 忠心。
And their hearts were not right with him, and they did not keep their agreement with him.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 78:37
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse diagnoses the root of Israel's failure: an outer show of repentance without a genuine inner change. Adam Clarke states plainly, 'When the heart is wrong, the life is wrong.' The Hebrew word nāḵôn (from kûn, to be established or prepared) means the heart was not fixed or firm toward God. Albert Barnes explains it was not 'adjusted' to the profession of loyalty made by the lips. John Gill adds that the heart was 'wavering, fickle, and inconstant', neither ready for good work nor steady in trust. The second verb, ne'emanu (Niphal of ʾāman), carries the sense of being upheld or carried along, as a nurse carries a child. Israel was not 'steadfast in his covenant'; they did not let God's sustaining care carry them through the relationship. The consensus is clear: outward worship is empty without a heart that is truly aligned with God.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse teaches that a heart not steadfast with God leads to covenant unfaithfulness, regardless of outward religious activity.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Heart condition | The heart that is not 'steadfast' or 'right' with God fails to align with the covenant relationship; this is a moral and spiritual problem. | Some interpreters (e.g., Gill) see this as describing total apostasy, while others (e.g., Barnes) describe it as a pattern of inconsistency; both agree it denotes failure. |
| Covenant faithfulness | Being faithful in the covenant requires inner loyalty, not just outward observance. | Calvin and Gill understand this as the Mosaic, conditional covenant, while others apply it more broadly to God’s redemptive relationship with his people; both see the failure as real. |
| Human responsibility | The verse holds Israel accountable for their heart condition and their actions. | Wesleyan traditions emphasize prevenient grace enabling a response, while Reformed traditions stress the need for sovereign regeneration; this verse describes the problem but does not prescribe the remedy. |
| God’s response | Despite the heart’s failure, God shows mercy (v.38). | Some see this mercy as acting within the covenant framework, while others view it as a preview of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31, 34); both affirm that God’s character is the solution. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 78 is a historical recital from the perspective of Asaph, the temple musician. It traces God's mighty acts from the exodus to the choosing of David, with the repeated refrain that Israel 'forgot his works' and 'rebelled' despite his care. Verses 34, 36 immediately before our text show a pattern: after God's judgment, the people 'inquired after him' and 'remembered that God was their rock.' But their words were flattery, not prayer (v.36). Verse 37 then gives the reason: the heart was not right.
The wilderness setting is crucial. This generation had received the covenant at Sinai (Exodus 24:3, 8), promising complete obedience. Yet they grumbled for water (Exodus 17:2, 3), worshipped the golden calf (Exodus 32), and later refused to enter the land (Numbers 14). The Hebrew word for 'covenant' (běrît) here refers specifically to the Mosaic covenant, a mutual bond of loyalty. The verb nāḵôn (steadfast) echoes Psalm 78:8, where the fathers are described as 'a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal.'
The cultural background includes the ancient Near Eastern practice of suzerain-vassal treaties, where a great king would make a covenant with a lesser king, and the vassal was required to be loyal and faithful. Israel's heart failure is thus a breach of treaty trust. Barnes and Gill both connect this to the specific sin of hypocrisy: they promised, but did not perform. The verse therefore explains the cyclical rebellion of Israel as a matter of the heart, not merely of occasional lapse.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 78:37. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscript traditions, and the English translations (WEB, KJV, ASV, BSB, YLT, Darby) reflect only minor stylistic differences in rendering the same underlying text.
Reception History
Across church history, this verse has been used as a warning against hypocrisy and nominal faith. Early church fathers like Augustine referenced it in arguments that true religion is a matter of the heart, not mere ceremony. During the Reformation, Luther and Calvin cited it to demonstrate human fallenness: even after receiving grace, the heart remains prone to wavering. Pietist and Methodist traditions (e.g., Clarke) emphasized the need for a heart 'right with God,' connecting it to the theme of entire sanctification. In modern evangelical and Pentecostal contexts, the verse is often paired with Psalm 51:10 ('Create in me a clean heart') to call for genuine repentance and ongoing transformation. It also appears in hymnody that contrasts human faithlessness with God’s covenant faithfulness.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The heart that was not steady. The Hebrew nāḵôn means prepared, fixed, established, the opposite of a heart that is divided or unsettled. Israel’s heart was not anchored in God.
- The covenant that was not kept. Faithfulness (ne'emanu from ʾāman) means being reliable, someone who carries out promises. Israel did not hold up their end of the covenant relationship.
- The mercy that still answered. Verse 38 contrasts human unfaithfulness with God's compassion: 'But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity.' God’s character fills the gap we cannot.
Five-point outline
- Outward signs of seeking God (vv.34, 36): They inquired, remembered, flattered.
- Diagnosis of inner failure (v.37a): Their heart was not right with him.
- Evidence of covenant unfaithfulness (v.37b): They were not steadfast in his covenant.
- The root: a divided heart, partly trusting, partly rebelling.
- The divine response: Instead of destruction, mercy (v.38).
Illustration hooks
- A patient who shows up for all appointments and nods at every instruction, yet never follows the treatment plan. The actions are there; the heart is not engaged.
- A marriage where one partner says 'I love you' every day but makes choices that damage trust. The words are right; the covenant loyalty is broken.
- A congregation that sings loudly on Sunday but slanders coworkers on Monday. The mouth flatters; the heart is not steadfast.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can I tell if my spiritual habits are genuine or just routine? What are the signs of a heart that is not right?
- Why did Israel repent and remember God, yet still be called unfaithful? Was their repentance fake?
- If my heart wavers, how does God’s mercy still hold me? This verse shows judgment, but v.38 shows compassion, how do I live between those two?
Leading a Discussion
This verse shows that memory of God’s deeds and even temporary repentance can coexist with a heart that is not truly loyal. It offers a chance for your group to examine the gap between external Christian activity and internal devotion. Use this to explore what God looks for in the heart, not just in the outward practices.
Discussion questions
- Look at verses 34, 36. What do the people do when God judges them? List the actions.
- How does verse 37 challenge the sincerity of those actions? What words does the psalmist use to describe the heart’s condition?
- The Hebrew word for “steadfast” (nāḵôn) implies something prepared and firm. What kinds of things make our hearts unsteady toward God?
- The word “faithful” comes from ʾāman, the same root as “Amen.” What does it mean to be faithful in a covenant? How does that go beyond just keeping rules?
- Why do you think the psalmist contrasts the people’s failure with God’s mercy in verse 38? What does that tell us about God’s character?
- Can a person remember God’s works and still have a heart that is not right? How does that happen in your own life or in our church culture?
- What would it take for your heart to be “right” with God? How can we intentionally move from flattery to genuine loyalty?
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)
| Deuteronomy 31:20 | For when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant. |
| Psalms 44:17 | All this has come on us, yet we haven’t forgotten you. We haven’t been false to your covenant. |
| Psalms 44:18 | Our heart has not turned back, neither have our steps strayed from your path, |
| Psalms 51:10 | Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. |
| Psalms 78:8 | and might not be as their fathers— a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was not steadfast with God. |
| Psalms 119:80 | Let my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be disappointed. KAPF |
| Hosea 7:14 | They haven’t cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and new wine. They turn away from me. |
| Hosea 7:16 | They return, but not to the Most High. They are like a faulty bow. Their princes will fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue. This will be their derision in the land of Egypt. |
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 traces a direct chain: a wrong heart toward God always produces a wrong life, and that inner failure inevitably shows up as unfaithfulness to the covenant. The heart's condition is the root; the broken conduct is the fruit it cannot help bearing.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes focuses on the precise meaning of the Hebrew word behind "not right," which conveys that the heart was not properly adjusted or aligned with the profession their lips made. The issue was a fundamental mismatch: they made a solemn pledge with their words while their inner state remained disconnected from that promise.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin sees this psalm as a deliberate two-sided contrast: God's tender adoption and constant care for His chosen people, and their repeated, treacherous rebellion against such a generous Father. He also highlights a distinct act of renewed grace—God's second election in choosing David to rule, showing God's goodness persisting despite human faithlessness.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Even after repeated judgments failed to reform them, God continued showing mercy. The heart is the seat of thought and will, the organ that determines moral character and true repentance. Stedfast and faithful describe the same quality of inward devotion.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes draw a twofold diagnosis: the Israelites' heart was never fully sincere toward God, and that inward falseness showed in their broken covenant promises. The note presents this as a settled faithlessness of the inner person, not a momentary stumble.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that these people lacked a heart truly prepared, fixed, and faithful toward God. Instead they were wavering, fickle, and deceitful like a bow that misses its mark. They also broke the covenant made at Sinai, failing to stand firm in their promise to obey.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the heart being "not right" means it is not firm or steadfast. The word points to a lack of stability and integrity before God, not merely a moral failure. The cross-references show the same idea of a heart that wavers rather than one that is fixed on God.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange stresses that these historical events are presented as a parable with hidden meaning, a "prophecy turned backward." He argues that sacred history always has a concealed layer of instruction, calling the reader to press past the surface story and find the timeless lesson God is teaching through each generation's failures and deliverances.