Bible Strands
Psalms 68:22
The Lord said, “I will retrieve them from Bashan, I will bring them up from the depths of the sea,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks in the context of divine judgment and deliverance, addressing the congregation as He declares His sovereign action against enemies and for His people.
The words — The verb אָשִׁיב (a.Shiv) means "I will bring back," paired with מִמְּצֻלּוֹת יָם (mi/m'tzu lot Yam), literally "from depths of sea."
The thread — Bashan recurs in Numbers 21:33 as a fortified enemy territory, while the sea imagery parallels Exodus 14:22 where God makes a path through waters. This retrieval motif aligns with Ezekiel 36:24, where God gathers His people from scattered lands.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that God's power operates from the most inaccessible places to accomplish His stated purposes, framing deliverance and judgment as parallel outcomes of His intervention.
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
The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:
Cross-references
- Numbers 21:33 Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet them in battle at Edrei.
- Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.
- Exodus 14:22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
- Exodus 14:29 But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
- Isaiah 11:11 On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isaiah 51:10 Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?
- Amos 9:2 Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
- Isaiah 49:22 This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
- Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’