Bible Strands
Psalms 102:17
He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God immediately after declaring that the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in His glory, framing the verse as part of a record intended for a future generation.
The words — The text highlights פָּ֭נָה (Pa.nah), meaning he has turned, and בָ֝זָ֗ה (va.Zah), meaning he has despised, to describe God’s responsive posture toward the destitute.
The thread — This motif of divine attention to the afflicted prayer appears in Nehemiah 1:6, where the speaker asks for God’s attentive ears, and in Psalms 22:24 and Psalms 9:18, which record that God does not hide His face from the oppressed nor let their hope fade.
Why it lands — The text asserts that God actively directs His attention to the prayer of the poor and refuses to reject it. The reader must acknowledge that divine response is guaranteed for the afflicted, independent of their social status or capacity to perform ritual.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 1:6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against You. Both I and my father’s house have sinned.
- Psalms 22:24 For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help.
- Psalms 9:18 For the needy will not always be forgotten; nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.
- Psalms 72:12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper.
- Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
- Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Deuteronomy 32:36 For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- Nehemiah 1:11 O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)
- Daniel 9:3 So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Psalms 69:23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.