Bible Strands
Psalms 106:46
He made them objects of compassion to all who held them captive.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the assembled community while recounting Israel’s cycle of rebellion and God’s subsequent intervention. The speaker stands in the place of the redeemed, summarizing how God acted when the people were exiled.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּתֵּן (va.yi.tten) means “he gave” or “he made,” and the phrase לְרַחֲמִים (le.rachamim) literally translates to “into compassion.” The text states God actively positioned Israel as recipients of mercy before their captors.
The thread — This motif of divine compassion toward exiles appears in Ezra 9:9, where God extends grace in bondage, and Jeremiah 42:12, where promised compassion includes restoration. Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8:50 similarly petitions for favor before those who hold His people captive.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that God’s covenant loyalty operates independently of human merit. Readers must acknowledge that divine mercy can alter the attitudes of oppressors to secure theI have to answer now.
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 made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
Cross-references
- Ezra 9:9 Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 42:12 And I will show you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own land.’
- 1 Kings 8:50 May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.
- Jeremiah 15:11 The LORD said: “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will intercede with your enemy in your time of trouble, in your time of distress.
- 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.)
- 2 Chronicles 30:9 For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”