Bible Strands
Psalms 30:11
You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses the LORD, moving from the cry for mercy in verse 10 into praise in verse 12. He is naming a specific reversal God already effected, not requesting one.
The words — פִּתַּחְתָּ (pi.Tach.ta, H6605) is the root meaning "you opened, loosened," not the more dramatic "peeled off" of the BSB; it describes unbinding a garment that was fastened tight. The verse's structural hinge is הָפַכְתָּ (ha.Fakh.ta, H2015), "you turned," the same verb used for turning aside or reversing a direction.
The thread — Jeremiah 31:13 repeats the exact formula: "I will turn their mourning into joy." Ecclesiastes 3:4 generalizes the pairing (weep/laugh, mourn/dance) as a temporal rhythm rather than a divine act.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to name the specific mourning that was removed, not to settle for a generic "God comforts." It also implies that joy was not added on top of grief but substituted for it, the sackcloth itself being the thing discarded.
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
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 31:4 Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
- Ecclesiastes 3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
- Jeremiah 31:13 Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.
- 2 Chronicles 20:12 Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
- Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- Psalms 149:3 Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.
- Psalms 30:5 For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Psalms 150:4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.
- Psalms 126:1 A song of ascents. When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.
- Isaiah 61:3 to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.