Bible Strands
Psalms 63:8
My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David, in flight and under threat (cf. v. 9), addresses God as the one who has already proven himself a refuge.
The words — דָּבְקָה (dāḇəkā) means "stuck, adhered," the same root used for the Shema's command that God's words "be on your heart" (Deut 6:6) and for a wife cleaving to her husband (Gen 2:24); it is not a gentle leaning but a physical sticking. תָּמְכָה (tāməkā) is the term for propping up a structure, as a beam braces a wall.
The thread — "Your right hand upholds me" recurs in Psalms 18:35, where it is paired with a shield of salvation; Psalms 73:23 shifts to the first person ("You hold my right hand"), and Isaiah 41:10 extends the same help-and-strengthening promise to a whole nation.
Why it lands — The verse assigns two distinct actions: the soul must cling, and God must uphold; it does not let the reader skip the first.
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
My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
- Psalms 18:35 You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.
- Psalms 73:23 Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.
- Song of Solomon 2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
- Psalms 37:24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
- Psalms 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.
- Psalms 94:18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.
- Isaiah 42:1 “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- Psalms 41:12 In my integrity You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever.
- Genesis 32:26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”