Bible Strands
Psalms 30:3
O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol; You spared me from descending into the Pit.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses Yahweh directly, recounting a rescue from fatal illness that immediately follows the plea for healing in verse 2. The statement marks the transition from personal supplication to the communal call for praise in verse 4.
The words — The verb הֶֽעֱלִ֣יתָ (he.'e.Li.ta) literally means "you brought up," acting upon נַפְשִׁי (naf.shi) for "my life" or "my soul." It is paired with חִיִּיתָנִי (chi.yi.ta.ni), which literally renders "you preserved me alive" from the descent into בּוֹר (bor), "the pit."
The thread — The concept of rescue from Sheol appears in Psalms 16:10 and Psalms 86:13, both framing divine preservation as deliverance from the grave. The imagery connects to the warning in Psalms 28:1 that divine silence would result in descending to that same realm.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to identify survival from imminent death as a direct act of divine intervention. It demands a factual accounting of deliverance that precedes and justifies public praise.
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
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Cross-references
- Psalms 16:10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
- Psalms 86:13 For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.
- Psalms 28:1 Of David. To You, O LORD, I call; be not deaf to me, O my Rock. For if You remain silent, I will be like those descending to the Pit.
- Isaiah 38:17 Surely for my own welfare I had such great anguish; but Your love has delivered me from the pit of oblivion, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
- Jonah 2:4 At this, I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.’
- Psalms 40:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
- Psalms 71:20 Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes, You will revive me once again. Even from the depths of the earth You will bring me back up.
- Job 33:19 A man is also chastened on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,
- Job 33:28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will live to see the light.’
- Psalms 56:13 For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.