The Meaning of Psalms 116:2 Explained

Psalms 116:2

KJV: Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

YLT: Because He hath inclined His ear to me, And during my days I call.

Darby: For he hath inclined his ear unto me, and I will call upon him during all my days.

ASV: Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Because he hath inclined  his ear  unto me, therefore will I call  upon [him] as long as I live. 

What does Psalms 116:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 116:1-11 - He Delivered My Soul
Throughout this psalm we meet the pronoun in the first person. Only in two verses, Psalms 116:15 and Psalms 116:19, does it not so occur. There is no fear of egotism, however, when the heart of the singer overflows with divine love.
Psalms 116:1-4
The psalmist here compares himself to some wild animal ensnared by the hunter and bound by the sharp cords which make free movement impossible. Bow many of God's saints have felt the deep incision of these cords! It has been with them as with Joseph, when let down into the pit. But there is no pit so deep that a cry from it may not reach the heart of God.
Psalms 116:5-11
When the quiet faith of answered prayer is ours, the fluttering soul seems to settle down to its nest in peace. The feet which were slipping now walk in the paths of life. Notice the prayer of Psalms 116:4 and the reply of Psalms 116:8. God does more than deliver; He wipes the tears from our faces, and holds us as a mother who places her hands under the armpits of her child, teaching it to walk. Paul quotes Psalms 116:10 in 2 Corinthians 4:13. How often must this psalm have been in his thought and on his lips! Do not speak hastily. An eminent religious leader said once, "I shall have good hopes of you, when you can speak and move slowly." [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 116

1  The psalmist professes his love and duty to God for his deliverance
12  He studies to be thankful

What do the individual words in Psalms 116:2 mean?

Because He has inclined His ear to me therefore as long as I live I will call [upon Him]
כִּֽי־ הִטָּ֣ה אָזְנ֣וֹ לִ֑י וּבְיָמַ֥י אֶקְרָֽא

כִּֽי־  Because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
הִטָּ֣ה  He  has  inclined 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָטָה 
Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
אָזְנ֣וֹ  His  ear 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֹזֶן  
Sense: ear, as part of the body.
לִ֑י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
וּבְיָמַ֥י  therefore  as  long  as  I  live 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
אֶקְרָֽא  I  will  call  [upon  Him] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.