Psalms 108:4

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

For your loving kindness is great above the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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שְׁחָקִ֥ים

shachaq

H7834

“clouds”

Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute

Appears 21× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Deuteronomy 33:26

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H7833

TWOT: 2367a

dust, cloud - fine dust - (thin) cloud

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

8: words
8: distinct lemmas
Wisdom: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is שְׁחָקִ֥ים dust H7834 — appearing just 21 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

שְׁחָקִ֥ים dust H7834 occurs in 21 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

4 nouns
1 adjective
2 prepositions
1 conjunction

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 15 words from the Hebrew and 15 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the same length.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 8 Hebrew tokens and 10 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Psalms 108:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Psalms 36:5 Your loving kindness, Yahweh, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Ephesians 2:4–7 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
Psalms 103:11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.
Psalms 89:2 I indeed declare, "Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens. Your faithfulness is in them."
Psalms 85:10 Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Psalms 89:5 The heavens will praise your wonders, Yahweh; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Psalms 113:4 Yahweh is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens.

Micah 7:18–20 Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, And passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn't retain his anger forever, Because he delights in loving kindness.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

You’re reading Greek Psalm 107 (Hebrew Psalm 108). The Septuagint counts the superscription, so verse numbers can differ from the Hebrew — chapter-level alignment, not verse-by-verse. Numbering follows Rahlfs.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Psalms 108:4 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

כִּֽי גָד֣וֹל מֵֽעַל שָׁמַ֣יִם חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ וְֽעַד שְׁחָקִ֥ים אֲמִתֶּֽךָ

For your loving kindness is great above the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Greek Psalm 107:4 Septuagint · lemma form

ἐκὁμολογέω σύ ἐν λαός κύριος καί ψάλλω σύ ἐν ἔθνος

For your mercy is great above the heavens, and your truth reaches to the clouds.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Commentary

Notes on Psalms 108:4 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

The Biblical Illustrator

Joseph S. Exell

Psa_108:4

For Thy mercy is great above the heavens, and Thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

Gods mercy above the heavens

I. The ideas involved in this representation.

1. Its lofty conspicuousness.

(1) It is clearly expounded in the Word of God, which every one may read in his own tongue.

(2) It is openly proclaimed by the ministers of God, who are commanded to preach it everywhere.

(3) It is pre-eminent in the earth, as actually attracting the attention of mankind, even among the wisest and most advanced nations.

2. Its wide embrace. The heavens encompass and enclose all the earth. So that the people at the antipodes see the same sun and moon and stars that we see. What an emblem of the comprehensiveness of the Gospel!

3. The almighty sovereignty. The heavens rule the earth physically: so Gods mercy governs all the events of mankind. His dominion, through Christ, rules everything in the Church, and subordinates everything in the world. Think of His benign character, His holy law, His gracious purposes: and then see how He can abase the proud, reward the wicked, avenge the just.

4. Its settled stability. Christ reigns on high, and maintains His majesty and state, undisturbed by worldly tumults, darknesses, and changes.

II. How to be contemplated.

1. With ardent admiration, delight, and confidence.

2. With cheerful submission.

3. With watchful care to please God: for He is over us everywhere.

4. With hope as to the future: for He must bring final victory to the good and true, and reign till all foes are under His feet. (Anon.)

The immensity of mercy

I. The moral character and number of its objects.

II. The grand purpose of its operations. Why does it exercise itself towards this universe of sinners? In one word--to restore them to the image, the friendship, and the blessedness of God.

III. The extraordinary means it employs.

1. The gift of Christ.

2. The preaching of the Gospel.

3. The ministry of Providence.

4. The agency of the Spirit.

IV. The countless multitudes it has saved. John in his day beheld multitudes which no man could number, etc.

V. The exhaustless provisions which remain.

1. Equal to the emergency of the greatest sinner. Magdalene, the thief, Saul, the sinners on the day of Pentecost, etc.

2. Equal to the emergency of all the sinners that will ever be. (Homilist.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. A. Alexander on Psalms

Joseph Addison Alexander

5. (Psa 108:4). For great from above the heavens (is) thy mercy, and unto the clouds thy truth. See above, on Psa 57:10. The only variation is the change of unto into from above, apparently intended to suggest the idea of God's mercy as descending upon man.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

4. For thy lovingkindness is great above the heavens,

And thy truth (reacheth) unto the skies.

This verse gives the reason for the praises which he purposes to offer. Once more God’s lovingkindness and truth had been attested by the deliverance of Israel from exile. Cp. Psa_98:3. The change of ‘unto the heavens’ into ‘above the heavens’ is a loss to the sense, making the second line an anticlimax.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

For thy mercy is great above the heavens,..... It is in Psa 57:10, "thy mercy is great unto the heavens". See Gill on Psa 57:10.

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Psalms 108:6

psa 108:6

psa 108:6

psa 108:6That thy beloved may be delivered,.... From hence to the end of the psalm the words are taken out of Psa 60:5. See Gill on Psa 60:5.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For thy mercy ... - This is taken from Psa 57:10. The only change is in the expression “above the heavens,” instead of “unto the heavens.” The sense is essentially the same. The particular idea here, if it differs at all from the expression in Psa 57:1-11, is, that the mercy of God seems to “descend” from heaven upon man, or “comes down” from on high.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Treasury of David

Charles H. Spurgeon

Ver. 4. For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and therefore there must be no limit of time, or place, or people, when that mercy is to be extolled. As the heavens over arch the whole earth, and from above mercy pours down upon men, so shalt thou be praised everywhere beneath the sky. Mercy is greater than the mountains, though they pierce the clouds; earth cannot hold it all, it is so vast, so boundless, so exceeding high that the heavens themselves are over topped thereby.

And thy truth teacheth unto the clouds. As far as we can see we behold thy truth and faithfulness, and there is much beyond which lies shrouded in cloud, but we are sure that it is all mercy, though it be far above and out of our sight. Therefore shall the song be lifted high and the psalm shall peal forth without stint of far resounding music. Here is ample space for the loudest chorus, and a subject which deserves thunders of praise.

Ver. 4. For thy mercy is great, etc. His mercy is greatthat mercy sung of lately (Ps 107:1, 43). It is "from above the heavens" (Mymv-lem); i.e., coming down to us as do drops of a fertilizing shower; even as the "Peace on earth", of Lu 2:14, was first "peace in heaven" (Lu 19:38). Andrew A. Bonar.

Ver. 4. The mercy of God was then great above the heavens, when the God man, Christ Jesus, was raised to the highest heavens, and the truth of our salvation established on the very throne of God. W. Wilson.

Ver. 4-5. There is more stuff and substance of good in the Lord's promises than the sharpest sighted saint did or can perceive; for when we have followed the promise, to find out all the truth which is in it, we meet with a cloud of unsearchable riches, and are forced to leave it there; for so much is included in this, Thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. The height of our praising of God is to put the work of praising God upon himself, and to point him out unto others as going about the magnifying of his own name, and to be glad for it, as here; Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth. David Dickson.

Ver. 4-6. There is great confidence here, and, as ever, mercy to the soul which knows itself and comes before truth. But, then, for its own deliverance and blessing it looks to the exalting of God. This shows it must be a holy, righteous exalting. "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; that thy beloved may be delivered." It is a blessed thought, and this is what faith has to lay hold of now, even in the time of trial, that our blessing and God's glory are one, only we must put his glory first. J.N. Darby.

Ver. 4-5. The greatness of mercy, the height of truth, and the immensity of the Divine praise.

Psalms 108:5*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. Identical with Psa_57:10, with the exception of one preposition, which occurs only in some manuscripts.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Psalms, in the Wisdom, opens this verse with 8 words (8 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is shachaq (“dust”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word shachaq carries the sense “dust.” How does it shape the verse?
How does Deuteronomy 33:26, which shares the word «dust», read alongside this verse?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
Compare how The Biblical Illustrator and J. A. Alexander on Psalms read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 8 Hebrew ↔ 10 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 11 words in this verse.
8 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 8 words in this verse.