New King James Version
Psalms 103:13
13As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
Psalms 103:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
- New International Version (NIV)As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
- English Standard Version (ESV)As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
Context of Psalms 103:13
11For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. 14For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. 15As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
Read all of Psalms 103Psalms 103:13 word by word
כְּרַחֵ֣ם אָ֭ב עַל־בָּנִ֑ים רִחַ֥ם יְ֝הוָ֗ה עַל־יְרֵאָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 103:13
- Numbers 11:12Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers?
- Deuteronomy 3:5All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns.
- Proverbs 3:12For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.
- Isaiah 63:15Look down from heaven, And see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained?
- Jeremiah 31:9They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.
- Matthew 6:9In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
- Luke 11:11If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
- Luke 16:21desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
- John 20:17Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
- Hebrews 12:5And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
- Psalms 103:11For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
- Psalms 147:11The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.
- Malachi 3:16Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.
- Malachi 4:2But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
- Acts 13:26“Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.
Commentaries on Psalms 103:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Like as a father pitieth his children - This is a very emphatic verse, and may be thus translated: "As the tender compassions of a father towards his children; so the tender compassicns of Jehovah towards them that fear him." Nothing can place the tenderness and concern of God for his creatures in a stronger light than this. What yearnings of bowels does a father feel toward the disobedient child, who, sensible of his ingratitude and disobedience, falls…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Like as a father pitieth his children - Hebrew, “Like the compassion of a father for his children.” See the notes at Matthew 7:7-11. God often compares himself with a father, and it is by carrying out our ideas of what enters into the parental character that we get our best conceptions of the character of God. See the notes at Matthew 6:9. That which is referred to here, is the natural affection of the parent for the child; the tender love which is borne…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-14Verses 6-14 Truly God is good to all: he is in a special manner good to Israel. He has revealed himself and his grace to them. By his ways we may understand his precepts, the ways he requires us to walk in; and his promises and purposes. He always has been full of compassion. How unlike are those to God, who take every occasion to chide, and never know when to cease! What would become of us, if God should deal so with us? The Scripture says a great deal…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13The Lord is like a father to his children. This idea is central to the teachings of Jesus about God's fatherhood (see Matthew 5:43–48; 6:1; 10:19–20; 12:50; Luke 6:36; 12:29–32; John 8:31–59; 15:1–8; see also 2 Samuel 7:14; Jeremiah 3:19; 31:9; Malachi 1:6; 2 Corinthians 6:16–18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. pitieth--literally, "has compassion on."Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 103:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 103
- 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
- John Wesley’s Notes
- 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries