Bible Strands
Psalms 17:15
As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, contrasting his own hope with the temporary, earthly rewards given to the wicked in the preceding verse. He speaks from a posture of personal trust amid ongoing distress or persecution.
The words — The Hebrew אֶחֱזֶה ('e.che.Zeh) means "I will see" or "I will behold," paired with פָנֶ֑י/ךָ (fa.Nei./kha) for "Your face." The term תְּמוּנָתֶֽ/ךָ (te.mu.na.Te./kha) translates literally as "Your likeness" or "form."
The thread — The promise of beholding God’s face appears in Psalms 11:7, where the upright see His face because He is righteous. The motif of satisfaction in God’s presence echoes Psalm 16:11, which links divine encounter with joy and eternal pleasures.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to fix their hope on future divine encounter rather than present circumstances or earthly gain. It requires a posture of patient endurance that expects fulfillment only in God’s direct presence.
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
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- Psalms 11:7 For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.
- Psalms 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
- Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
- Psalms 4:6 Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
- 1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
- Philippians 3:21 who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
- Psalms 65:4 Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple.
- Isaiah 26:19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
- Revelation 21:23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.