Psalm 107 5

Psalm 107:5 kjv

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

Psalm 107:5 nkjv

Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them.

Psalm 107:5 niv

They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.

Psalm 107:5 esv

hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

Psalm 107:5 nlt

Hungry and thirsty,
they nearly died.

Psalm 107 verses

Psalm 107 5 Meaning

Psalm 107:5 vividly portrays a state of utter desperation and severe physical and mental exhaustion. It describes individuals, specifically wanderers in a desolate wilderness, experiencing extreme hunger and thirst. This profound lack of sustenance leads to a deep internal weakening, where their very being—their life-force and spirit—languishes and gives way, symbolizing near collapse or the brink of death.

Psalm 107 5 Context

Psalm 107 is a wisdom psalm and a hymn of thanksgiving, celebrating God's steadfast love (חֶסֶד, hesed) and miraculous deliverances. It unfolds as a series of four exemplary narratives (verses 4-32), each detailing a distinct group of people in extreme distress, their cry to the LORD, His powerful rescue, and a subsequent call for the delivered to praise Him.

Verse 5 specifically describes the first group mentioned in verse 4: "Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city where they might dwell." This portrayal directly evokes the imagery of the Israelite Exodus and their 40 years of wilderness wandering, a foundational narrative of God's redemptive work. Historically and culturally, the ancient Near East was replete with tales of journeys through arid lands, making the plight of hunger and thirst universally understandable and deeply harrowing for the original audience. The suffering described is not just a general affliction but highlights a divine discipline and testing that often preceded a profound experience of God's miraculous provision and salvation. The psalm serves to remind God's people of His consistent care and responsiveness to their cries, irrespective of the depth of their predicament.

Psalm 107 5 Word analysis

• Hungry: Hebrew: רְעֵבִים (re'evim). This is an adjective indicating a state of being extremely famished. It's the active participle of the verb meaning "to be hungry," emphasizing a continuous condition of severe lack. In the desert, this would quickly lead to incapacitation and death.
• and thirsty: Hebrew: וְגַם צְמֵאִים (vegam tz'mei'im). The vegam ("and also") emphasizes the duality and severity of their plight. Tz'mei'im (thirsty) also functions as an adjective, indicating a persistent and desperate lack of water. In the harsh wilderness, the combination of hunger and thirst is lethal, leading to rapid deterioration. This resonates with the Israelite experience where thirst was often a more immediate threat than hunger in arid environments.
• their soul: Hebrew: נַפְשָׁם (nafsham). The term nephesh (soul) in Hebrew often refers not just to a spiritual entity or emotions, but to the entire being—the animating principle of life, the throat, the breath, the person's very self. Here, "their soul" signifies the very core of their life force, indicating that the entire person was profoundly affected, not just superficially. It suggests a complete, holistic decline.
• fainted: Hebrew: יִתְעַטָּף (yit'at'taf). This is the Hithpael imperfect form of the verb 'ataph, meaning "to be overwhelmed," "to grow weak," "to faint," "to cover oneself (as if collapsing)." The Hithpael stem denotes a reflexive or reciprocal action, emphasizing that the soul itself was "wrapping itself up" or becoming enshrouded in weakness and despair. This isn't merely tired; it's a deep internal collapse, a feeling of being suffocated by one's own weakness, on the verge of expiring.
• within them: Hebrew: בָּהֶם (bahem). This prepositional phrase means "in them" or "within them." It reiterates the internal nature of the fainting. The distress isn't just external circumstances; it's permeated their very being. The physical conditions (hunger and thirst) have led to an internal breakdown of their strength and vitality.

Words-group analysis:

• "Hungry and thirsty": This phrase paints a stark picture of dire physical need, characteristic of wilderness travel. It represents the most basic human needs being unfulfilled, leading to immediate crisis. This sets the stage for God's powerful intervention in providing food and water.
• "their soul fainted within them": This is a profound description of holistic suffering. It extends beyond mere physical discomfort to spiritual and emotional despondency. The use of "soul" (nephesh) indicates that their very life force, their resilience, and their inner strength were giving way. The "fainting within them" powerfully conveys a sense of utter weakness, inner collapse, and the impending surrender to the harsh conditions. This extreme internal debilitation makes the subsequent divine rescue even more remarkable. It highlights that human desperation is often a prelude to God's gracious display of power and hesed.

Psalm 107 5 Bonus section

The suffering depicted in Psalm 107:5, particularly the "fainting of the soul," speaks deeply to the spiritual dimensions of human need. While physical hunger and thirst are immediate perils, the nephesh fainting suggests a broader despondency, an exhaustion of hope and willpower that precedes physical collapse. This reflects a profound existential crisis, mirroring the spiritual emptiness that many experience before encountering God's sustaining grace. The psalm implicitly argues against any belief that humanity can ultimately save itself from such depths of despair, highlighting that only the intervention of a divine rescuer can resuscitate the "fainted soul." This concept of a soul that has given up also stands in stark contrast to the abundant life and spiritual satisfaction promised in various Scriptures (e.g., John 10:10; Isa 55:1-2).

Psalm 107 5 Commentary

Psalm 107:5 serves as a powerful testament to the severity of human distress, acting as the low point from which God's glorious deliverance will emerge. The verse encapsulates a universal human experience of profound helplessness when faced with overwhelming physical deprivation, yet elevates it to a state where the very life force (the 'soul' or 'nephesh') within one's being collapses. This isn't just physical fatigue; it's a deep spiritual and psychological despair where one is completely overcome by circumstances, having exhausted all internal resources. The psalmist meticulously sets up this desperate image precisely to magnify the Lord's subsequent intervention. It underscores that humanity's extreme weakness becomes the canvas for God's perfect strength. When individuals are reduced to this state of fainting internally, all hope in self or others diminishes, preparing them to cry out solely to God (as the next verse, Ps 107:6, details) and thus truly acknowledge His saving power and steadfast love. The implicit message is that true salvation arises when all self-reliance has vanished.

Examples:

• A believer undergoing intense spiritual dryness and doubt, feeling utterly depleted and unable to muster any faith, then turning to God in brokenness and finding renewed strength.
• Someone facing severe financial ruin or loss, feeling the weight of the situation crushing their spirit, and realizing that only God can truly sustain them beyond material provisions.