The Meaning of Psalms 78:38 Explained

Psalms 78:38

KJV: But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.

YLT: And He -- the Merciful One, Pardoneth iniquity, and destroyeth not, And hath often turned back His anger, And waketh not up all His fury.

Darby: But he was merciful: he forgave the iniquity, and destroyed them not; but many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his fury:

ASV: But he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: Yea, many a time turned he his anger away, And did not stir up all his wrath.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But he, [being] full of compassion,  forgave  [their] iniquity,  and destroyed  [them] not: yea, many a time  turned  he his anger  away,  and did not stir up  all his wrath. 

What does Psalms 78:38 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 78:38-48 - "signs In Egypt"
God takes into account the frailty and infirmity of our natures. The Spirit"¦ helpeth our infirmities, Romans 8:26. In the words of Hosea, God teaches us "to go;" that is, He puts His hands under our armpits, that we may learn how to walk. In the process there are many failures, but He distinguishes between the willful breach of His commands, and the blunders that are due to the frailty of our natures. Being full of compassion, He forgives; He remembers that we are but flesh.
Let us not limit the Holy One, Psalms 78:41. He waits to do marvelous things for us and by us; but how often we confine His power within the narrow channel of our own little faith. We do not like to trouble Him too often. We say in effect that as He has done this, we can hardly expect Him to do the other. We bring a limited number of vessels to be filled with the sacred oil. We strike but three times on the ground, and not until the seventh time of perfection. He cannot do many mighty things for us because our unbelief. Let us quicken our souls to larger thoughts of God, by recounting, as in this paragraph, His wonders of old. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 78

1  An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God
9  The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient
67  The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David

What do the individual words in Psalms 78:38 mean?

But He [being full] of compassion forgave [their] iniquity and not did destroy [them] and Yes many a time He turned away His anger and not did stir up all His wrath
וְה֤וּא רַח֨וּם ׀ יְכַפֵּ֥ר עָוֺן֮ וְֽלֹא־ יַ֫שְׁחִ֥ית וְ֭הִרְבָּה לְהָשִׁ֣יב אַפּ֑וֹ וְלֹֽא־ יָ֝עִיר כָּל־ חֲמָתֽוֹ

וְה֤וּא  But  He 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
רַח֨וּם ׀  [being  full]  of  compassion 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַחוּם  
Sense: compassionate.
יְכַפֵּ֥ר  forgave 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּפַר 
Sense: to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch.
עָוֺן֮  [their]  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
וְֽלֹא־  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יַ֫שְׁחִ֥ית  did  destroy  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁחַת  
Sense: to destroy, corrupt, go to ruin, decay.
וְ֭הִרְבָּה  and  Yes  many  a  time 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הַרְבָּה 
Sense: be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous.
לְהָשִׁ֣יב  He  turned  away 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
אַפּ֑וֹ  His  anger 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
וְלֹֽא־  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָ֝עִיר  did  stir  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עוּר 
Sense: to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite.
חֲמָתֽוֹ  His  wrath 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חֵמָא 
Sense: heat, rage, hot displeasure, indignation, anger, wrath, poison, bottles.