Bible Strands
Psalms 27:14
Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks to himself in a moment of unresolved waiting, immediately after affirming certainty that he will see the LORD's goodness in the land of the living (27:13). The verse functions as a self-exhortation to endure the gap between that certainty and its fulfillment.
The words — קַוֵּה (qavveh), the Hiphil imperative of qavah, means "wait for" with an expectant, eager quality rather than passive idling; it is the verse's structural bookend, repeated at both ends. חֲזַק (chazak), "be strong," paired with יַאֲמֵץ (ya'atzetz), "be courageous," forms a fixed exhortation to resolve in the face of uncertainty.
The thread — Psalms 31:24 extends the same "be strong and courageous" command to all who hope in the LORD. Isaiah 40:31 links waiting on the LORD to renewed strength, and Isaiah 30:18 grounds waiting in the LORD's justice and compassion.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to act with resolve while the answer has not yet arrived, to hold strength and courage as a deliberate choice rather than a feeling.
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
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Psalms 31:24 Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the LORD.
- Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- Psalms 130:5 I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.
- Psalms 37:34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
- Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
- Psalms 62:5 Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.