God’s Word Translation
Psalms 116:1
1I love the Lord because he hears my voice, my pleas for mercy.
Psalms 116:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
- New International Version (NIV)I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.
Context of Psalms 116:1
I love the Lord because he hears my voice, my pleas for mercy. 2I will call on him as long as I live because he turns his ear toward me. 3The ropes of death became tangled around me. The horrors of the grave took hold of me. I experienced pain and agony.
Read all of Psalms 116Psalms 116:1 word by word
אָ֭הַבְתִּי כִּֽי־יִשְׁמַ֥ע׀ יְהוָ֑ה אֶת־ק֝וֹלִ֗י תַּחֲנוּנָֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 116:1
- Psalms 18:1I love you, O Lord, my strength.
- Psalms 119:132Turn toward me, and have pity on me as you have pledged to do for those who love your name.
- Mark 12:33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
- John 21:17Jesus asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt sad because Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” So Peter said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep.
- 1 John 4:19We love because God loved us first.
- 1 John 5:2We know that we love God’s children when we love God by obeying his commandments.
- Psalms 18:6I called on the Lord in my distress. I cried to my God for help. He heard my voice from his temple, and my cry for help reached his ears.
- Psalms 31:22When I was panic-stricken, I said, “I have been cut off from your sight.” But you heard my pleas for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
- Psalms 34:3Praise the Lord’s greatness with me. Let us highly honor his name together.
- Psalms 40:1I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
- Psalms 66:19But God has heard me. He has paid attention to my prayer.
- Psalms 69:33The Lord listens to needy people. He does not despise his own who are in prison.
- Genesis 35:2So Jacob said to his family and those who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods which you have, wash yourselves until you are ritually clean, and change your clothes.
- 1 Samuel 1:26“Sir,” Hannah said, “as sure as you live, I’m the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the Lord.
- John 16:24So far you haven’t asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive so that you can be completely happy.
Commentaries on Psalms 116:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1I love the Lord because he hath heard - How vain and foolish is the talk, "To love God for his benefits to us is mercenary, and cannot be pure love!" Whether pure or impure, there is no other love that can flow from the heart of the creature to its Creator. We love him, said the holiest of Christ's disciples, because he first loved us; and the increase of our love and filial obedience is in proportion to the increased sense we have of our obligation to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1I love the Lord - The Hebrew rather means, “I love, because the Lord hath heard,” etc. That is, the psalmist was conscious of love; he felt it glowing in his soul; his heart was full of that special joy, tenderness, kindness, peace, which love produces; and the source or reason of this, he says, was that the Lord had heard him in his prayers. Because he hath heard - That is, This fact was a reason for loving him. The psalmist does not say that this was…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The psalmist declares his love to the Lord. (1-9) His desire to be thankful. (10-19) Verses 1-9 We have many reasons for loving the Lord, but are most affected by his loving-kindness when relieved out of deep distress. When a poor sinner is awakened to a sense of his state, and fears that he must soon sink under the just wrath of God, then he finds trouble and sorrow. But let all such call upon the Lord to deliver their souls, and they will find him…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1I love the LORD: This unique opening expresses affection for and commitment to the Lord (see Psalm 18:1; Deuteronomy 6:5) on the basis of what the Lord has done.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191-2. A truly grateful love will be evinced by acts of worship, which calling on God expresses (Psa 116:13; Psa 55:16; 86:7; compare Psa 17:6; 31:2).Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 116:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 116
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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