Bible Strands
Psalms 131:2
Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David, in a song of ascents, speaks to the LORD immediately after declaring that his heart is not proud and he does not aspire to what is too great for him. This verse is the self-description that follows that confession.
The words — שִׁוִיתִי (shivi.ti, "I have made still," H7737) and כְּגָמֻל (ke.gamul, "like a weaned child," H1580) together define the verse: active stilling of the soul, measured against a child who no longer clings to the breast.
The thread — Psalms 42:11 is the nearest parallel, addressing the soul directly and calling it to hope in God rather than unease. Mark 10:15 and 1 Corinthians 14:20 reuse the child image in opposite directions: one calls for childlike trust, the other warns against childlike thinking.
Why it lands — The verse demands that a reader stop grasping for what is beyond their station and accept the quiet of a weaned child who no longer needs to nurse. It is not a call to passivity but to the release of ambition in favor of trust.
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
Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
Cross-references
- Mark 10:15 Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
- 1 Corinthians 14:20 Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- Psalms 42:11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Psalms 43:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Lamentations 3:26 It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
- Matthew 18:3 “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
- John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
- Psalms 62:1 For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him.
- Isaiah 30:15 For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”
- Psalms 42:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.