Bible Strands
Psalms 42:4
These things come to mind as I pour out my soul: how I walked with the multitude, leading the festive procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and praise.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses his own soul during a period of grief and public questioning, recalling past corporate worship to confront his current despair.
The words — The verb אֶזְכְּרָ֨ה ('ez.ke.Rah) means "I will remember," paired with the prepositional phrase עָלַ֨י ('a.La/i) "on myself," which directly modifies the pouring out of נַפְשִׁ֗י (naf.Sh/i, "my soul").
The thread — The action of pouring out one's heart before God is paralleled in 1 Samuel 1:15 and Psalms 62:8, while the imagery of leading a festive procession connects to Isaiah 30:29.
Why it lands — The text commands the reader to actively recall past divine encounters and bring them before God, using remembered worship as a structural counter to present distress.
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
When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 30:29 You will sing as on the night of a holy festival, and your heart will rejoice like one who walks to the music of a flute, going up to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.
- 1 Samuel 1:15 “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
- Psalms 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- Psalms 122:1 A song of ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
- Job 29:2 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
- Psalms 55:14 We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
- Psalms 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name.
- Nahum 1:15 Look to the mountains—the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be utterly cut off.
- Deuteronomy 16:11 and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.
- Deuteronomy 16:14 And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.