Psalms 107:12 — Word Study
WLCוַיַּכְנַ֣ע בֶּעָמָ֣ל לִבָּ֑ם כָּ֝שְׁל֗וּ וְאֵ֣ין עֹזֵֽר׃
BSAHe humbledkânaʻ▸ [brought low, made submissive] their heartslêb [the seat of feelings, will, and intellect] with hard laborʻâmâl [trouble, toil, and sorrow] they stumbledkâshal■ [fell, lost their balance] and there was noʼayin one to helpʻâzar [none, nothing, assist, support, or aid]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וַיַּכְנַ֣ע | and he humbled | Verb, Hiphil, sequential imperfect third person masculine singular |
| בֶּעָמָ֣ל | with trouble | Preposition, noun common both singular absolute |
| לִבָּ֑ם | heart their | Noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| כָּ֝שְׁל֗וּ | they stumbled | Verb, Qal, perfect third person common plural |
| וְאֵ֣ין | and there not | Conjunction, noun common masculine singular construct |
| עֹזֵֽר׃ | [was] a helper | Verb, Qal, participle (active) masculine singular |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | He humbled their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. |
| KJV | Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. |
| ASV | Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. |
| YLT | And He humbleth with labour their heart, They have been feeble, and there is no helper. |
| WEB | Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help. |
| BBE | So that he made their hearts weighted down with grief; they were falling, and had no helper. |
The translations agree on the rendering of כָּנַע as humbled.
The structure shows a main action followed by explanations of how and why it occurred.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
subjectעָזַר
verbכָּנַע
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Psalms 107:12
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Consequences of Rebelliongenerated
Psalms 107:12 reflects on the consequences faced by the Israelites due to their rebellion against God. The psalmist recounts how God humbled them through hard labor, causing them to stumble. This verse is part of a larger narrative that emphasizes God's deliverance following their cries for help, as seen in the subsequent verses, particularly Psalms 107:13.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exodus 2:23 | After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God. |
| 2 | Exodus 5:18–19 | Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.” |
| 3 | Judges 10:16–18 | So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel. |
| 4 | Judges 16:21–30 | Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison. |
| 5 | Nehemiah 9:37 | Its abundant harvest goes to the kings You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please. We are in great distress. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 15 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — כָּנַע, vai.yakh.Na'generated
The verb כָּנַע (kana) is in the Hiphil form, indicating an action that causes someone to be humble. It conveys the sense of bringing low or subduing, often in a context of authority or divine intervention.
This word emphasizes the act of humbling, which in this context reflects God's power over human hearts. The use of this verb here suggests a deliberate action by God to bring the Israelites to a state of submission through their struggles.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses humbled for כָּנַע.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb is וַיַּכְנַ֣ע (and he humbled), which governs the entire verse. It is followed by a prepositional phrase indicating the means of this humbling, בֶּעָמָ֣ל (with trouble), and then a noun phrase for the object, לִבָּ֑ם (their hearts).
The structure highlights the cause-and-effect relationship: the humbling leads to stumbling, as indicated by the subsequent verb כָּ֝שְׁל֗וּ (they stumbled), culminating in the absence of help expressed by וְאֵ֣ין (and there was no).
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, כָּנַע is rendered as ἐταπεινώθη, which also means 'was humbled.' This choice aligns with the theme of divine action in humbling the people.
The translation choice reflects a consistent understanding of God's role in bringing about humility, emphasizing the theological implications of the humbling process.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Psalms 107:12 tells us that God humbled the hearts of the people through hard labor, causing them to stumble without any help. This verse highlights the struggles faced by the Israelites due to their rebellion against God, leading them to recognize their need for assistance.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It means that God brought them low, making them submissive through their struggles and hardships.
The hard labor caused them to lose their balance, both physically and spiritually, leading to their need for help.
It signifies the isolation and desperation they felt in their struggles, emphasizing their reliance on God.
It illustrates the cycle of rebellion, suffering, and eventual deliverance that characterizes the experiences of the Israelites.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what areas of my life do I feel humbled or brought low by circumstances?
- How can I recognize when I am stumbling and in need of help?
- What role does hard work play in my spiritual journey?
- How can I support others who may be struggling and feeling alone?
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Psalms 107:12 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleTherefore he brought down their heart with labour,.... Humbled them under his mighty hand; brought down their haughty spirits and proud stomachs by one afflictive providence or another; by which the
Read John Gill on Psalms 107 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryTherefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. Therefore he brought down their heart with labour. Their heart had been proud and rebellious. The Lord brought it down by affliction.
Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 107 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleTheir heart; the pride, and rebellion, and obstinacy of their hearts. With labour; or, with trouble or troubles. They fell into their enemy’ s hands, and into hopeless and remediless miseries.
Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 107 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsPsalms 107:12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and [there was] none to help.Ver. 12. Therefore he brought down their heart] That proud piece of flesh, Quod erat elatum et verba Dei contempsit, saith Kimchi, which had stouted it out with God, and thought to have carried it away with a strong hand; as Manasseh, that sturdy rebel, till God had hampered him, and laid him in cold irons.
Read John Trapp on Psalms 107 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(12) Brought down.—Literally, made them bend.Fell down.—Better, stumbled.The whole verse presents a picture of men staggering under the forced labour which was the usual fate of captives under the great Oriental monarchies.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Psalms 107 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 12. He brought down their heart with labour] He delivered them into the hands of their enemies. and, as they would not be under subjection to GOD, he delivered them into slavery to wicked men: "So they fell down, and there was none to help ;" God had forsaken them because they had forsaken him.
Read AdamClarke on Psalms 107 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges12. So that he subdued their heart with travail. Cp. Psalms 106:42. they fell down] Lit. they stumbled; figuratively as in Psalms 105:37 (note); Isaiah 3:8 (A.V. is ruined).
Read Cambridge on Psalms 107 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleTherefore he brought down their heart - Their pride; their self-sufficiency; their self-complacency.
Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 107 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
He humbled their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help.
He humbled their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
So he used suffering to humble them; they stumbled and no one helped them up.
Tyndale line
Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help.
Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help.
When he humbled their heart with heauines, then they fell downe and there was no helper.
Strictly literal
And he bowed down their heart with labour; they stumbled, and there was none to help:
And He humbleth with labour their heart, They have been feeble, and there is no helper.
And He humbles their heart with labor, || They have been feeble, and there is no helper.
And he humbled with trouble their heart; they stumbled, and there was none to help;
He humbled their hearts through hardship; they stumbled and there was no one to help them up.
From the Latin
Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our armies?
Simplified
So he humbled their pride with the troubles of life; they tripped over and no one was there to stop them falling.
So that he made their hearts weighted down with grief; they were falling, and had no helper.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text reads: וַיַּכְנַ֣ע בֶּעָמָ֣ל לִבָּ֑ם כָּ֝שְׁל֗וּ וְאֵ֣ין עֹזֵֽר׃. The Septuagint matches five of the six words, indicating a strong agreement between these ancient witnesses. The Dead Sea Scrolls show one word on the leather with five supplied by an editor, indicating a similar context but with some textual restoration.
וַיַּכְנַ֣ע בֶּעָמָ֣ל לִבָּ֑ם כָּ֝שְׁל֗וּ וְאֵ֣ין עֹזֵֽר׃
5 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
[ויכנע] [בעמל] [לב׳ם] כשלו [ואין] [עזר]
1 word on the leather — 5 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Psalms 107:12
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
כָּנַע (kana) is a Hebrew verb meaning to be humble or to humble oneself. It conveys the idea of subjugation or bringing down, whether in a reflexive sense (humbling oneself) or in an active sense (humbling others or subduing enemies). The entries indicate its use in different forms, including passive and active, but do not provide specific verse references.
[כָּנַע] vb. be humble, only in der. conj.
Niph.
reflex. humble oneself
pass. be humbled, subdued
Hiph.
humble
subdue enemies
base
H3665 [כָּנַע] be humble, only in der. conj. . . reflex. humble oneself
. pass. be humbled, subdued
. . humble
. subdue enemies
3665 kana` kaw-nah'
a primitive root; properly, to bend the knee; hence, to
humiliate, vanquish:--bring down (low), into subjection,
under, humble (self), subdue.
כָּנַע (ka.na) — be humble.
1) to be humble, be humbled, be subdued, be brought down, be low, be under, be brought into subjection
1a) (Niphal)
1a1) to humble oneself
1a2) to be humbled, be subdued
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to humble
1b2) to subdue
Conj | V-Hiphil-ConsecImperf-3ms — Verb · Hiphil · sequential imperfect third person masculine singularHc/Vhw3ms
עָמָל (amal) refers to trouble, labor, or toil. It encompasses a range of meanings including physical and mental effort, as well as sorrow and mischief. The word is built from a root that conveys the idea of wearing effort and can imply grievance or wickedness. It appears in contexts related to suffering and toil.
עָמָל n.m. f. trouble, labor, toil
trouble (∥ sorrow): one’s own suffering
trouble, mischief, as done to others
toil, labour (late in Heb.)
base
H5999 עָמָל trouble, labor, toil
5999 `amal aw-mawl'
from 5998; toil, i.e. wearing effort; hence, worry, wheth. of
body or mind:--grievance(-vousness), iniquity, labour,
mischief, miserable(-sery), pain(-ful), perverseness, sorrow,
toil, travail, trouble, wearisome, wickedness.
see HEBREW for 05998
עָמָל (a.mal) — trouble.
1) toil, trouble, labour
1a) trouble
1b) trouble, mischief
1c) toil, labour
Prep | N-cs — Preposition · noun common both singular absoluteHRd/Ncbsa
→ BORROWING Mt 6:25-34; Mr 5:35,36; Joh 14:1; 16:6,7; Php 4:6; 1Pe 5:7
See AFFLICTION
See SUFFERING
→ INSTANCES OF
Israelites at the Red Sea Ex 14:10-12
About water Ex 15:23-25; 17:2,3; Nu 20:1-13
Food Ex 16:2,3; Nu 11:4-33
When Moses waited upon the mountain Ex 32:1
The Hebrew word לֵב (lev) means 'heart' and encompasses the inner man, mind, will, and emotions. It refers to the center of feelings, intellect, and moral character, as well as the seat of appetites and courage. The entries suggest a broad range of meanings related to human experience and thought, with a specific mention of its use in Jeremiah 51:1.
לֵב 599 n.m. (f.) inner man, mind, will, heart
seldom of things in the midst of the sea
elsewhere of men
the inner man in contrast with the outer
the inner man, indef., soul, comprehending mind, affections and will
specific reference to mind
spec. ref. to inclinations, resolutions and determinations of the will
spec. ref. to conscience
[various]
for the man himself
as seat of appetites
as seat of emotions and passions
seat of courage
base
לֵב קָמָי prob. late Atbash Je 51:1.
ref
H3820a לֵב inner man, mind, will, heart . seldom of things in the midst of the sea
. elsewhere of men . the inner man in contrast with the outer
. the inner man, indef., soul, comprehending mind, affections and will
. specific reference to mind
. spec. ref. to inclinations, resolutions and determinations of the will
. spec. ref. to conscience
. [various]
. for the man himself
. as seat of appetites
. as seat of emotions and passions
. seat of courage
H3820b לֵב קָמָי prob. late Atbash
3820 leb labe
a form of 3824; the heart; also used (figuratively) very
widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect;
likewise for the centre of anything:--+ care for, comfortably,
consent, X considered, courag(-eous), friend(-ly), ((broken-),
(hard-), (merry-), (stiff-), (stout-), double) heart((-ed)), X
heed, X I, kindly, midst, mind(-ed), X regard((-ed)), X
themselves, X unawares, understanding, X well, willingly,
wisdom.
see HEBREW for 03824
לֵב (lev) — heart.
1) inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
1a) inner part, midst
1a1) midst (of things)
1a2) heart (of man)
1a3) soul, heart (of man)
1a4) mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory
1a5) inclination, resolution, determination (of will)
1a6) conscience
1a7) heart (of moral character)
1a8) as seat of appetites
1a9) as seat of emotions and passions 1a10) as seat of courage
לֵב (lev) — Leb.
§ Leb- = "heart of"
(probably a cryptic name for Babylon by Atbash)
N-ms | Suff — Noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHNcmsc/Sp3mp
כָּשַׁל (kashal) means to stumble or totter, often due to weakness. It can refer to physical stumbling, as well as metaphorical weakness or failure. The verb has various forms, including causing others to stumble or making them weak. The entries suggest a range of meanings from literal stumbling to broader implications of ruin and weakness.
כָּשַׁל vb. stumble, stagger, totter
Qal
stumble at, over, something (lit. by means of)
totter
Niph.
stumble
be tottering, feeble
Pi. only apparent
Hiph.
cause to stumble
make feeble, weak
Hoph. either and let them be ones who have stumbled before thee, i.e. regard them as such, or and let them be ones overthrown before thee
base
H3782 כָּשַׁל stumble, stagger, totter .. stumble at, over, something (lit. by means of)
. totter
. . stumble
. be tottering, feeble
. only apparent
. . cause to stumble
. make feeble, weak
. either and let them be ones who have stumbled before thee, i.e. regard them as such, or and let them be ones overthrown before thee
3782 kashal kaw-shal'
a primitive root; to totter or waver (through weakness of the
legs, especially the ankle); by implication, to falter,
stumble, faint or fall:--bereave (from the margin), cast down,
be decayed, (cause to) fail, (cause, make to) fall
(down, -ing), feeble, be (the) ruin(-ed, of), (be) overthrown,
(cause to) stumble, X utterly, be weak.
כָּשַׁל (ka.shal) — to stumble.
1) to stumble, stagger, totter
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to stumble
1a2) to totter
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to stumble
1b2) to be tottering, be feeble
1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to cause to stumble, bring injury or ruin to, overthrow
1c2) to make feeble, make weak
1d) (Hophal) to be made to stumble
1e) (Piel) bereave
V-Qal-Perf-3cp — Verb · Qal · perfect third person common pluralHVqp3cp
אַ֫יִן (ayin) primarily means 'nothing' or 'nought' and serves as a negative particle indicating absence or negation, such as 'is not' or 'there is not.' It can also express lack of possession or existence. The word is derived from a root meaning to be non-existent, and it appears frequently in various grammatical constructions.
אַ֫יִן, אָ֑֫יִן cstr. אֵין subst. prop. nothing, nought
to nothing, as nothing
cstr. אֵין, very freq. as particle of negation, is not, are not, was not, were not
אֵין לְ׳, with subst., or pron., there is (was) not to … = … have, has, had, etc. not
in circumst. clauses
with inf. and ל׳, it is not to …
with prefixes
base
H369 אַ֫יִן, אָ֑֫יִן cstr. אֵין subst. prop. nothing, nought . to nothing, as nothing
. cstr. אֵין, very freq. as particle of negation, is not, are not, was not, were not
. אֵין לְ׳, with subst., or pron., there is (was) not to … = … have, has, had, etc. not
. in circumst. clauses
. with inf. and ל׳, it is not to …
. with prefixes
369 'ayin ah'-yin
as if from a primitive root meaning to be nothing or not
exist; a non-entity; generally used as a negative
particle:--else, except, fail, (father-)less, be gone,
in(-curable), neither, never, no (where), none, nor, (any,
thing), not, nothing, to nought, past, un(-searchable),
well-nigh, without. Compare 370.
see HEBREW for 0370
אַ֫יִן (a.yin) — nothing.
1) nothing, not, nought n
1a) nothing, nought neg
1b) not
1c) to have not (of possession) adv
1d) without w/prep
1e) for lack of
Conj | Part — Conjunction · noun common masculine singular constructHC/Ncmsc
עָזַר (azar) is a Hebrew verb meaning to help or succour. It is built from a primitive root that conveys the idea of surrounding or protecting. The entries indicate its use in various forms: Qal (to help), Niphal (to be helped), and Hiphil (to help). The word captures the essence of providing support or aid.
[עָזַר] 82 vb. help, succour
Qal help
Niph. I am helped
Hiph. v. Qal.
base
H5826 [עָזַר] help, succour
5826 `azar aw-zar'
a primitive root; to surround, i.e. protect or aid:--help,
succour.
עָזַר (a.zar) — to help.
1) to help, succour, support
1a) (Qal) to help
1b) (Niphal) to be helped
1c) (Hiphil) to help
V-Qal — Verb · Qal · participle (active) masculine singularHVqrmsa