Explore the Bible Online

Psalms 16:2

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

[O my soul], thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou [art] my Lord: my goodness [extendeth] not to thee;

Psalms 16:2 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Psalms 16:2

Theological / Devotional

O my soul. The phrase does not appear in the Hebrew. It is inserted because in the Hebrew the verb for “thou hast said” is feminine. If the verb form is correct, “feminine of address” must be understood. However, several Hebrew manuscripts, supported by the LXX, have the verb in the first person, thus permitting the simple translation, “I said to the Lord,” etc.

My Lord. The Hebrew word used here is not Yahweh, but ’Adonai, “my Master” (see Vol. I, p. 35).

My goodness extendeth not to thee. Literally, “my good not upon thee.” The meaning of the Hebrew phrase thus translated is not clear. The RSV translation, “I have no good apart from thee,” is based on the interpretive translation of the Targums and Jerome. Perhaps the psalmist meant, “God is the source of all my good, and therefore the only object of my trust and devotion.”

By SdaBc