The Meaning of Psalms 28:1 Explained

Psalms 28:1

KJV: {A Psalm of David.} Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

YLT: By David. Unto Thee, O Jehovah, I call, My rock, be not silent to me! Lest Thou be silent to me, And I have been compared With those going down to the pit.

Darby: {A Psalm of David.} Unto thee, Jehovah, do I call; my rock, be not silent unto me, lest, if thou keep silence toward me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

ASV: Unto thee, O Jehovah, will I call: My rock, be not thou deaf unto me; Lest, if thou be silent unto me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

{{[A Psalm] of David.  }} Unto thee will I cry,  O LORD  my rock;  be not silent  to me: lest, [if] thou be silent  to me, I become  like them that go down  into the pit. 

What does Psalms 28:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

David cried out in prayer for the Lord"s deliverance from his enemies so he would not die. The "pit" refers to the grave.
"Prayer is an expression of sole dependence on the Lord for help." [1]

Context Summary

Psalm 28:1-9 - A Prayer And Its Answer
This psalm also probably belongs to the time of Absalom's rebellion. Psalms 28:2-3 resemble Psalms 26:8-9.
God is silent sometimes because He loves us unspeakably, Zephaniah 3:17, r.v., margin; sometimes to test our faith, Matthew 15:23; sometimes because He has already spoken and we have not listened, Matthew 26:62. But let us never go elsewhere for help, 1 Samuel 28:6-7. Let us wait and pray, lifting up our hands in the dark to touch His hands.
These prayers for the punishment of the wicked should be read as predictions. Do not be afraid of evil or of evil-doers. God is "a consuming fire" and destroys all evil. He causes the enemy to be still as a stone until His redeemed have passed over. Therefore there breaks in on the psalmist the ray of hope which finds expression in Psalms 28:6-7. Faith cries, I am helped! Let us rejoice even before the jailer comes to tell us that we are free, Acts 16:25; and let us send out our prayers for all the Church, Psalms 28:9. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 28

1  David prays earnestly against his enemies
6  and for the people

What do the individual words in Psalms 28:1 mean?

A Psalm of David To You Yahweh I will cry my Rock not do be silent to me lest if You [are] silent to me and I become like those who go down to the pit
לְדָוִ֡ד אֵ֘לֶ֤יךָ יְהוָ֨ה ׀ אֶקְרָ֗א צוּרִי֮ אַֽל־ תֶּחֱרַ֪שׁ מִ֫מֶּ֥נִּי פֶּן־ תֶּֽחֱשֶׁ֥ה מִמֶּ֑נִּי וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּי עִם־ י֥וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר

לְדָוִ֡ד  A  Psalm  of  David 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
אֵ֘לֶ֤יךָ  To  You 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
יְהוָ֨ה ׀  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֶקְרָ֗א  I  will  cry 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
צוּרִי֮  my  Rock 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: צוּר 
Sense: rock, cliff.
תֶּחֱרַ֪שׁ  do  be  silent 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: חָרַשׁ 
Sense: to cut in, plough, engrave, devise.
מִ֫מֶּ֥נִּי  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
פֶּן־  lest  if 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: פֶּן  
Sense: lest, not, beware lest adv.
תֶּֽחֱשֶׁ֥ה  You  [are]  silent 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: חָרַשׁ 
Sense: to cut in, plough, engrave, devise.
מִמֶּ֑נִּי  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּי  and  I  become 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: מָשַׁל 
Sense: to represent, liken, be like.
עִם־  like 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
י֥וֹרְדֵי  those  who  go  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
בֽוֹר  to  the  pit 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּור 
Sense: pit, well, cistern.