Why do you despair, my soul?

And why do you groan?

In regards to me, you must hope on God, 

Because again I will confess him,

Salvation is before me and my God.”

(Psalm 43:5)

This verse is a repetition of Psalm 42:12 (verse 11 in English translations), once again binding these two psalms together as one. Again, the psalmist is bringing the song to a close by asking his soul—his being, why he laments at the bad things that are going on around him. His answer is to remind himself that it is upon God that he must hope for he trusts that God will once more bring him to that place where he can worship freely and confess his name before the watching world. Indeed, in God is our hope and our salvation.

Most of our English Bibles connect the clause “in regards to me” to the previous clause, translating it “within me.” This seems like it would be a natural reading of the text. Yet the Hebrew text contains accent marks that connect this clause to what follows it, not what precedes it, hence the translation we have here. While translating this as our English Bibles tend to do strips the verse of none of its theology, translating it in light of the accents brings the declarative statement of the psalmist into the forefront. He is essentially saying, “I cannot speak for what you will do, but as for me, I will hope in the Lord.” When the Hebrew is rendered in this manner, one cannot help but to see the confidence of this psalmist even while under persecution.

Loved ones, indeed, may your hope and your salvation be in Christ Jesus. He is the king of all and master of our hearts and lives. May God’s glory shine over you like a lamp in the darkness and give you hope. Amen.