Psalms 22:4 — Word Study
WLCבְּ֭ךָ בָּטְח֣וּ אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ בָּ֝טְח֗וּ וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ׃
BSAyou(m.s.)ʼattâh [our Rock, our Savior] holyqâdôwsh to dwellyâshab praisetᵉhillâh IsraelYisrâʼêl
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| בְּ֭ךָ | in you | Preposition, suffix |
| בָּטְח֣וּ | they trusted | Verb, Qal, perfect third person common plural |
| אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ | ancestors our | Noun common feminine plural construct, suffix |
| בָּ֝טְח֗וּ | they trusted | Verb, Qal, perfect third person common plural |
| וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ׃ | and you delivered them | Verb piel sequential imperfect second person masculine singular, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. |
| KJV | Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. |
| ASV | Our fathers trusted in thee: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them. |
| YLT | In Thee did our fathers trust — they trusted, And Thou dost deliver them. |
| WEB | Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them. |
| BBE | Our fathers had faith in you: they had faith and you were their saviour. |
Where they part company is in the translation of וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ׃ — see How Translations Differ.
The main clause presents the trust of the ancestors, with two subordinate clauses that elaborate on their actions and God's response.
7 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbקָדוֹשׁ
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 22:4
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 — A Psalm of Lamentgenerated
Psalm 22:4 reflects on the faith of the ancestors who trusted in God during times of trouble. The psalmist recalls how their trust in God led to their deliverance, emphasizing a legacy of faith that continues to inspire. This passage is situated within a larger context of lament, where the psalmist expresses deep feelings of abandonment while still affirming God's past faithfulness.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psalm 44:1–7 | We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old. |
| 2 | Genesis 15:6 | Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness. |
| 3 | Genesis 32:9–12 | Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’ |
| 4 | Exodus 14:13–14 | But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. |
| 5 | 1 Samuel 7:9–12 | Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on behalf of Israel, and the LORD answered him. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בָּטְח֣וּ, ba.te.Chugenerated
The verb בָּטַח (batach) means to trust or have confidence. It conveys a sense of security and reliance on God, as seen in the experiences of the ancestors who depended on Him during difficult times.
This word is in the perfect tense, indicating a completed action, which suggests that the ancestors not only trusted but also experienced God's deliverance as a result of their faith.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb בָּטְח֣וּ (they trusted) governs the main clause, with a prepositional phrase introducing the subject and another clause following it that provides further action. The structure emphasizes the continuity of trust from the ancestors to their deliverance.
The sentence is built around the actions of the ancestors and God's response, showing a clear cause and effect: their trust leads to God's deliverance.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates בָּטְח֣וּ as ἁγίοις (holy ones), which suggests a focus on the sanctity of those who trusted in God. This choice highlights the revered status of the ancestors in the faith.
In rendering וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ׃ as ἔπαινος, the translators may be emphasizing the praise due to God for His acts of deliverance.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Psalm 22:4 speaks of the trust that our ancestors placed in God and how He delivered them. This verse reminds us of the faithfulness of God throughout history and encourages us to rely on Him in our own lives.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It means that the ancestors had faith in God's ability to save and deliver them during difficult times.
This verse connects to the broader narrative of the Israelites' history, where they relied on God for deliverance from oppression.
Trust in God is emphasized to remind the faithful of His past actions and to encourage them to rely on Him in their own struggles.
It highlights God's faithfulness and power to save, serving as a reminder that He can deliver us as well.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what areas of my life do I need to trust God more deeply, as our ancestors did?
- How can I encourage others to place their trust in God based on the examples of faith from the past?
- What experiences have I had where I felt God's deliverance after trusting in Him?
- How does remembering the faith of our ancestors impact my own faith journey?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
The early church fathers often referenced this psalm to illustrate God's faithfulness. Here, Augustine quotes it to emphasize the trust placed in God by the righteous.
"Our Fathers hoped in You." All the righteous, namely, who sought not their own praise, but Yours. "They hoped in You, and You delivered them" [Psalms 22:4].Early Church Fathers on Psalms 22 →
Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Psalms 22:4 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleOur fathers trusted in thee,.... By whom are meant Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from whom our Lord descended; and the people of Israel when in Egypt, in the times of the judges, and in all ages before
Read John Gill on Psalms 22 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryOur fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. Our fathers trusted in thee.
Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 22 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleThis he adds for the reasons mentioned in the first note, .
Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 22 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsPsalms 22:4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.Ver. 4. Our fathers trusted in thee] They trusted, and trusted, and trusted, they lengthened out their trust. The Hebrew word for hope or trust signifieth also a line; because thereby the heart is stretched out as a line to the thing hoped for; and he that believeth maketh not haste. And thou didst deliver them] Never could any instance be given to the contrary. Let the success of our forefathers’ confidence, and hope unfailable, flowing from faith unfeigned, confirm our fiducial dependence upon gospel promises.
Read John Trapp on Psalms 22 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 4. Our fathers trusted in thee] David is supposed to have been, at the time of composing this Psalm, at Mahanaim, where Jacob was once in such great distress; where he wrestled with the angel, and was so signally blessed. David might well allude to this circumstance in order to strengthen his faith in God. I am now in the place where God so signally blessed the head and father of our tribes. I wrestle with God, as he did; may I not expect similar success?
Read AdamClarke on Psalms 22 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1–10. The pleading cry of the forsaken and persecuted servant of God.
Read Cambridge on Psalms 22 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleOur fathers trusted in thee - This is a plea of the sufferer as drawn from the character which God had manifested in former times.
Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 22 →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
In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them.
Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them.
In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them.
In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted in you and you rescued them.
Tyndale line
Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Our fathers trusted in thee: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didest deliuer them.
Strictly literal
Our fathers confided in thee: they confided, and thou didst deliver them.
In Thee did our fathers trust — they trusted, And Thou dost deliver them.
In You our fathers trusted; They trusted, and You deliver them.
(22:5) In thee did our fathers trust: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Our ancestors trusted in you; they trusted in you, and you rescued them.
From the Latin
For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.
Simplified
Our forefathers trusted in you; they trusted and you rescued them.
Our fathers had faith in you: they had faith and you were their saviour.
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 of Psalms 22:4 reads: 'In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them.' The Septuagint largely agrees with this verse, matching four out of five words in a word-by-word correspondence, although its sentence structure and articles differ from the Hebrew. The Dead Sea Scrolls, specifically 5/6hev1b, do not provide a direct match for this verse, as they contain a different text: 'And You are holy, sitting in the praises of Israel,' indicating a significant divergence from the Masoretic Text.
בְּ֭ךָ בָּטְח֣וּ אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ בָּ֝טְח֗וּ וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ׃
4 of the 5 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.
ואתה קדוש יושב תהלות ישראל
5 words on the leather.
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 22:4
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.
ךָּ (ka) — you.
Personal object pronoun - suffix for propositions and verbs without an object: 2nd person masculine singular
HR/Sp2ms — Preposition · suffixHR/Sp2ms
בָּטַח (batach) is a Hebrew verb meaning to trust or have confidence. It conveys a sense of security and boldness, both in a personal sense and when causing others to feel secure. The entries indicate its use in different forms, such as Qal and Hiphil, covering aspects of trust and confidence.
בָּטַח vb. trust
Qal
trust
be confident
Hiph. cause to trust, make secure
base
H982 בָּטַח trust . trust
. be confident
982 batach baw-takh'
a primitive root; properly, to hie for refuge (but not so
precipitately as 2620); figuratively, to trust, be confident
or sure:--be bold (confident, secure, sure), careless (one,
woman), put confidence, (make to) hope, (put, make to) trust.
see HEBREW for 02620
בָּטַח (ba.tach) — to trust.
1) to trust
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to trust, trust in
1a2) to have confidence, be confident
1a3) to be bold
1a4) to be secure
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to cause to trust, make secure
2) (TWOT) to feel safe, be careless
HVqp3cp — Verb · Qal · perfect third person common pluralHVqp3cp
אָב (av) means 'father' and encompasses various roles such as the literal father of an individual, God as the father of His people, and the head of a household or clan. It can also refer to an ancestor, originator of a profession, or a figure of respect and protection. Notably, it can imply a ruler or chief in later contexts.
אָב 1101 n.m. father
father of individual
of God as father of his people
head of household, family or clan
ancestor
originator or patron of a class, profession, or art
fig. of producer, generator
fig. of benevolence & protection
term of respect & honor
specif., ruler, chief (late)
base
H1 אָב father . father of individual
. of God as father of his people
. head of household, family or clan
. ancestor
. originator or patron of a class, profession, or art
. fig. of producer, generator
. fig. of benevolence & protection
. term of respect & honor
. specif., ruler, chief (late)
1 'ab awb
a primitive word; father, in a literal and immediate, or
figurative and remote application):--chief,
(fore-)father(-less), X patrimony, principal. Compare names
in "Abi-".
אָב (av) — father.
1) father of an individual
2) of God as father of his people
3) head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan
4) ancestor
4a) grandfather, forefathers - of person
4b) of people
5) originator or patron of a class, profession, or art
6) of producer, generator (fig.)
7) of benevolence and protection (fig.)
8) term of respect and honour
9) ruler or chief (spec.)
Also means: av (אַב "father" H0002)
אָב (av) — (Huram)-abi.
A man living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ki.7.13; also called Huram-abi (KJV: "Huram my father's") at 2Ch.2.13; 4.16;
Combined with chi.ram (חִירָם "Hiram" H2438H)
אָב (av) — father of.
The father of Gibeon, also known as Abiel - a man of the tribe of Benjamin living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.9.1;
son of: Zeror (H6872C); married to Maacah (H4601N);
HNcfpc/Sp1bp — Noun common feminine plural construct · suffixHNcfpc/Sp1bp
בָּטַח (batach) is a Hebrew verb meaning to trust or have confidence. It conveys a sense of security and boldness, both in a personal sense and when causing others to feel secure. The entries indicate its use in different forms, such as Qal and Hiphil, covering aspects of trust and confidence.
בָּטַח vb. trust
Qal
trust
be confident
Hiph. cause to trust, make secure
base
H982 בָּטַח trust . trust
. be confident
982 batach baw-takh'
a primitive root; properly, to hie for refuge (but not so
precipitately as 2620); figuratively, to trust, be confident
or sure:--be bold (confident, secure, sure), careless (one,
woman), put confidence, (make to) hope, (put, make to) trust.
see HEBREW for 02620
בָּטַח (ba.tach) — to trust.
1) to trust
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to trust, trust in
1a2) to have confidence, be confident
1a3) to be bold
1a4) to be secure
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to cause to trust, make secure
2) (TWOT) to feel safe, be careless
HVqp3cp — Verb · Qal · perfect third person common pluralHVqp3cp
פָּלַט (palat) is a Hebrew verb meaning to escape or slip away. It encompasses various nuances, including delivering, bringing to safety, and causing to escape, with different forms indicating active or passive meanings. The entries suggest its use in contexts of security and deliverance, though no specific Old Testament verses are cited.
[פָּלַט] vb. escape
Qal and (if) escapers of them escape.
Pi.
bring into security
cause to escape, cast forth, of cow calving
appar. intrans. be delivered
Hiph. bring into security
base
H6403 [פָּלַט] escape .and (if) escapers of them escape.
. . bring into security
. cause to escape, cast forth, of cow calving
. appar. intrans. be delivered
. bring into security
6403 palat paw-lat'
a primitive root; to slip out, i.e. escape; causatively, to
deliver:--calve, carry away safe, deliver, (cause to) escape.
פָּלַט (pa.lat) — to escape.
1) to escape, save, deliver, slip away
1a) (Qal) to escape
1b) (Piel)
1b1) to bring into security, deliver
1b2) to cause to escape, cast forth
1b3) to be delivered
1b4) to slip away
1c) (Hiphil) to bring into security, bring to safety
Hc/Vpw2ms/Sp3mp — Verb piel sequential imperfect second person masculine singular · suffixHc/Vpw2ms/Sp3mp