The Meaning of Psalms 31:10 Explained

Psalms 31:10

KJV: For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

YLT: For my life hath been consumed in sorrow And my years in sighing. Feeble because of mine iniquity hath been my strength, And my bones have become old.

Darby: For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength faileth through mine iniquity, and my bones are wasted.

ASV: For my life is spent with sorrow, And my years with sighing: My strength faileth because of mine iniquity, And my bones are wasted away.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For my life  is spent  with grief,  and my years  with sighing:  my strength  faileth  because of mine iniquity,  and my bones  are consumed. 

What does Psalms 31:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 31:1-13 - A Cry Out Of Deep Trouble
Some have supposed that this psalm was written during the Sauline persecutions; but it is more likely that it dates from Absalom's rebellion. It alternates between the depths of despondency and the heights of sublime faith, and well befits those who walk in darkness and have no light, Isaiah 50:10.
It sounds as if the soul were on a wind-swept moor, with no shelter from the storm. All is dark and wild; and it dreads to be caught in the entangling net, Psalms 31:4. What a magnificent prayer is that of Psalms 31:5! It supplied their last words to Stephen, Polycarp, Bernard, Hus, Luther, Melanchthon-above all, to our Lord, Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59. The Psalter was our Lord's prayer book. This verse is a suitable petition also, as we go forth into the unknown day, 2 Timothy 1:12.
Sin, slander, neglect make the heart break; but God is all-sufficient. Hide in Him; that life is safe which is God-encompassed. "Hid with Christ in God!" Colossians 3:1-4. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 31

1  David, showing his confidence in God, craves his help
7  He rejoices in his mercy
9  He prays in his calamity
19  He praises God for his goodness

What do the individual words in Psalms 31:10 mean?

For is spent with grief my life and my years with sighing fails because of my iniquity My strength and my bones waste away
כִּ֤י כָל֪וּ בְיָג֡וֹן חַיַּי֮ וּשְׁנוֹתַ֪י בַּאֲנָ֫חָ֥ה כָּשַׁ֣ל בַּעֲוֺנִ֣י כֹחִ֑י וַעֲצָמַ֥י עָשֵֽׁשׁוּ

כָל֪וּ  is  spent 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.
בְיָג֡וֹן  with  grief 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָגֹון  
Sense: grief, sorrow, anguish.
חַיַּי֮  my  life 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וּשְׁנוֹתַ֪י  and  my  years 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
בַּאֲנָ֫חָ֥ה  with  sighing 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲנָחָה  
Sense: sighing, groaning (expression of grief or physical distress).
כָּשַׁ֣ל  fails 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּשַׁל  
Sense: to stumble, stagger, totter.
בַּעֲוֺנִ֣י  because  of  my  iniquity 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, common singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
כֹחִ֑י  My  strength 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: כֹּחַ 
Sense: strength, power, might.
וַעֲצָמַ֥י  and  my  bones 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: עֶצֶם 
Sense: bone, essence, substance.
עָשֵֽׁשׁוּ  waste  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: עָשַׁשׁ  
Sense: (Qal) to waste away, fail.