Psalms 79:11 · Bible study
Psalms 79:11 Commentary: Groans of the Prisoner and God's Great Power
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore Psalm 79:11's plea for captives and those sentenced to death, its Hebrew imagery, and what it reveals about God's compassion and power.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A plea for God to hear the groans of captive Israel and by His great power preserve those doomed to die.
- Key words: Groaning (אֶנְקַת), prisoner (אָסִיר), arm (זְרוֹעֲךָ), sons of death (בְּנֵי תְמוּתָה).
- Main debate: Whether “sons of death” refers to literal execution or the living death of exile.
- Theological theme: God’s power is exercised in mercy toward the helpless.
- Best use: Intercessory prayer for the oppressed and those in mortal danger.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
May the groans of the captives reach You; by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before you. According to the greatness of your power, preserve those who are sentenced to death.
KJV King James Version 1769
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee: According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to death;
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Let the groaning of the prisoner come in before Thee, According to the greatness of Thine arm, Leave Thou the sons of death.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Let the groaning of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thine arm, preserve those that are appointed to die;
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
The shadow of it covered the hills: and the branches thereof the cedars of God.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Entre ante tu acatamiento el gemido de los presos: conforme á la grandeza de tu brazo preserva á los sentenciados á muerte.
Chegue diante de ti o gemido dos prisioneiros; conforme o teu grande poder, salva a vida dos sentenciados à morte.
Que les gémissements des captifs parviennent jusqu’ à toi!
Laß vor dich kommen das Seufzen der Gefangenen; nach deinem großen Arm erhalte die Kinder des Todes
Laat het gekerm der gevangenen voor Uw aanschijn komen; behoud overig de kinderen des doods, naar de grootheid Uws arms.
Giunga dinanzi a te il gemito de’ prigionieri; secondo la potenza del tuo braccio, scampa quelli che son condannati a morte.
Niech przyjdzie przed oblicze twoje narzekanie więźniów, a według wielkości ramienia twego zachowaj ostatki tych, co są na śmierć skazani.
Горы покрылись тенью ее, и ветви ее как кедры Божии;
願被囚之人 的歎息 達 到你面前；願你按你的大 能力 存留 那些將要死 的人。
Let the cry of the prisoner come before you; with your strong arm make free the children of death;
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 79:11
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse is a corporate plea for captive Israel, grounded in the Hebrew phrase “sons of death” (בְּנֵי תְמוּתָֽה). This idiom describes people in imminent danger of death, whether by execution, starvation, or the horrors of exile. Barnes notes that “the arm” of God (זְרוֹעֲךָ) symbolizes divine power and recalls the Exodus (Exodus 15:16). Keil & Delitzsch interpret “leave over sons of death” as a prayer that God would preserve them from succumbing to death “as to a patria potestas.” The prisoner’s sighing (אֶנְקַת אָסִיר) is taken literally as the groans of those in bondage. The Cambridge Bible adds that the language points to “the prison and the living death of exile.” Across traditions, the verse is read within a communal lament: the temple is defiled, the city ruined, and the only hope is God’s compassionate intervention. The consensus sees this as a raw, honest cry that trusts God’s power to rescue even from utter destruction.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse is a petition that God would hear the cries of the oppressed and exercise his power to save those in mortal danger, appealing to the memory of his saving acts in the Exodus.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of 'prisoner' | Refers to Israelites in captivity, groaning under oppression. | Whether this refers to the Babylonian exile (586 BC) or the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BC). Calvin mentions both possibilities without settling on one. |
| Meaning of 'sons of death' | An idiom for people under sentence of death or in mortal danger. | Some (Barnes, Cambridge Bible) see it as describing the living death of exile; others (Clarke, Gill) allow that it may refer to those literally condemned to execution. Both readings have support from the context. |
| Role of divine power in the petition | God's 'arm' (זְרוֹעֲךָ) is the only sufficient resource for deliverance. | Whether the petition expects immediate rescue or preserves an eschatological hope. Keil & Delitzsch emphasize the present danger; Calvin reads it within a longer history of God's action. |
| Relationship to the Exodus | The phrasing echoes Exodus 2:23 and Exodus 15:16, linking the present crisis to the founding salvation event. | Whether this is a typological pattern (God always hears the cry of the oppressed) or a direct appeal to repeat the Exodus miracle. Gill explicitly connects the sighing to Israel in Egypt. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 79 is a communal lament likely composed after the destruction of Jerusalem, either at the hands of Babylon (586 BC) or during the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BC). Calvin mentions both possibilities. The psalm describes the temple defiled, bodies unburied, and the people reduced to a reproach among the nations (vv. 1, 4). Verse 11 belongs to the second movement of the psalm (vv. 8, 13), where the psalmist moves from complaint to petition.
The “prisoner” (אָסִיר) refers to the captive people of Israel, taken from their homeland and held in bondage. The word “groaning” (אֶנְקַת) echoes Exodus 2:23, where Israel’s cry “came up to God” out of Egyptian slavery. This connection is intentional: the psalmist is appealing to the pattern of God’s salvation history. The “arm” (זְרוֹעֲךָ) is a traditional symbol of God’s saving power, used in the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:16) and elsewhere in the Psalms (44:3, 77:15).
The phrase “sons of death” (בְּנֵי תְמוּתָה) is a Semitic construct meaning those who are as good as dead, whether by sentence, disease, or the brutality of captivity. In the ancient Near East, prisoners of war often faced execution, starvation, or forced labor that killed them slowly. The petition to “preserve” or “leave over” (הוֹתֵר) asks God to spare them from that fate, to let them remain alive. The prayer is urgent: the community confesses its low condition (v. 8) and appeals to God’s name (v. 9). This lament is not passive, it trusts that God’s honour is bound up with his people’s deliverance.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentary sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 79:11. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. Minor differences in vocalization (e.g., the Qal imperfect תָּב֣וֹא) do not affect the meaning. All translations render the verse with the same essential sense: a petition that the prisoner’s groaning would come before God and that he would preserve the sons of death.
Reception History
Throughout church history, Psalm 79:11 has been read as a prayer for the persecuted. Early Christians applied “the prisoner” to those jailed for their faith and “the sons of death” to martyrs awaiting execution. The verse was included in medieval liturgies for the dying and in prayers for captives. Reformation commentators like Calvin used it to encourage believers suffering under hostile regimes, emphasizing that God’s honour is tied to his people’s deliverance. In the African American spiritual tradition, the image of groans “coming before” God resonated powerfully during slavery and later oppression. The verse continues to be prayed by believers interceding for prisoners, refugees, and the terminally ill.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Prisoner’s Sigh. God hears the groans of the oppressed. The Hebrew verb “come before you” (תָּב֣וֹא) is a jussive: a passionate wish that these cries would reach God’s presence, just as they did in Egypt (Exodus 2:23, 24).
- The Arm of the Lord. God’s power (greatness of your arm) is the only resource for the helpless. This is not abstract omnipotence; it is the same strength that parted the Red Sea and broke the yoke of bondage.
- Preserving the Sons of Death. God’s mercy intervenes where human power fails. Those “appointed to die” are not beyond his reach. The prayer asks Him to “leave over” a remnant, to let life continue even in the shadow of death.
Five-point outline
- Honest lament is a valid form of prayer; the psalm does not hide the depth of suffering.
- God’s power is most clearly shown in mercy toward the powerless.
- The community bears the burden of its most vulnerable members, the prisoners and the condemned.
- Suffering is not the final word; the psalm ends with a vow of thanksgiving (v. 13).
- Justice and vengeance belong to God (v. 12), freeing us to pray for deliverance rather than retaliation.
Illustration hooks
- A parent sitting vigil by a child’s hospital bed, praying for one more day, this is the “sighing of the prisoner” when circumstances hold you captive.
- A church that commits to praying for prisoners, refugees, or the terminally ill, acknowledging that only God’s arm can save.
- Reading news of persecuted Christians overseas and feeling helpless, then turning that helplessness into intercession, asking God to “preserve those appointed to die.”
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I pray when the situation seems hopeless and death seems inevitable?
- Is it biblical to ask God to preserve life when someone is suffering?
- What does this verse mean for how we treat prisoners and those on death row today?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 79:11 comes from a moment when everything has fallen apart. The temple is gone, the city is rubble, and God’s own people are prisoners. Yet in that darkness, someone prays. This verse teaches us to bring our rawest emotions to God and to trust his power when we have none left. As you discuss this passage, let it shape how you understand the relationship between honest complaint and hopeful prayer.
Discussion questions
- What does the word “sighing” (or “groaning”) tell you about the emotional state of the psalmist? How does this compare to the way you typically pray during hardship?
- Why does the psalmist appeal to “the greatness of your arm” rather than, say, God’s wisdom or justice? What does “arm” symbolize in the Old Testament?
- Read Exodus 2:23, 24. How does this story provide a foundation for the psalmist’s prayer? What does it teach you about God’s response to suffering?
- The Hebrew phrase “sons of death” (בְּנֵי תְמוּתָה) is unusual. Barnes and the Cambridge Bible suggest it can refer to people facing execution or the living death of exile. How does this range of meaning affect the way you understand the petition?
- In verse 12, the psalmist asks God to repay the neighbours’ reproach. How does the desire for justice fit alongside the plea for mercy in verse 11? Are they in tension?
- Where do you see “prisoners” or “sons of death” in your community or in the world today? What would it look like for your group to pray this verse for them?
- What keeps you from bringing honest groans to God? How can this psalm give you permission to pray exactly how you feel?
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)
| Exodus 2:23 | In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. |
| Exodus 2:24 | God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. |
| Numbers 14:17 | Now please let the power of the Lord be great, according as you have spoken, saying, |
| Numbers 14:19 | Please pardon the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your loving kindness, and just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” |
| Psalms 12:5 | “Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in safety from those who malign him.” |
| Psalms 69:33 | For Yahweh hears the needy, and doesn’t despise his captive people. |
| Psalms 102:20 | to hear the groans of the prisoner, to free those who are condemned to death, |
| Psalms 146:6 | who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever; |
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 reads "the prisoner" as the captive Israelites in Babylon and "those appointed to death" as "sons of death," a phrase carrying two meanings at once. It refers both to Israelites condemned for their own sins against God and to those marked for destruction by their Babylonian enemies. Both applications hold true for Israel.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes identifies the prisoner as a Hebrew captive longing not only for relief from suffering but for return to his homeland. The power needed for such rescue is strictly divine—only an omnipotent arm can break this bondage. When David prays to preserve those appointed to die, he means people already under death’s sentence, whether from illness, captivity, or condemnation.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin highlights that the faithful in this psalm hold two truths together: they accept their suffering as just discipline from God, yet they also see it as undeserved cruelty from enemies. Their plea for mercy rests on God's honor being attacked when the ungodly blasp
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible Schools notes that "thy power" literally means "thine arm," a phrase evoking God's past deliverance. It argues that "those appointed to die" (literally "sons of death") more likely describes exiles in a living death than prisoners under sentence.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note interprets the prisoners as those bound by sin and the children of death as those under sentence of spiritual condemnation. It pleads for God to hear their desperate cry and save them by nothing less than His mighty power.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill distinguishes between two kinds of people in need: prisoners, whose sighs reach God, and those sentenced to die by human judgment rather than divine decree. He emphasises that God's great power can preserve believers who are condemned to death or in mortal danger.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB identifies the prisoner as the entire captive nation, not a single individual. They also note that the word for power literally means arm, drawing attention to God's physical strength as the agent of deliverance.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stresses that God's own honor prevents the nations who chastened Israel from triumphing permanently. The psalm's petition hinges on the repeated cry "thy name," drawing on language from the Torah and Joel. The call for sevenfold requital represents a completed criminal sentence, fully carried out.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry treats the plea for God to pour out his wrath on enemies not simply as a prayer but as a prophecy—a declaration of divine judgment already revealed from heaven. For him, the enemies' ignorance of God and neglect of prayer mark them as ungodly people who live without God in the world.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
The prisoner - Of thy poor people now in captivity.