Psalm 44:25 kjv
For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
Psalm 44:25 nkjv
For our soul is bowed down to the dust; Our body clings to the ground.
Psalm 44:25 niv
We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.
Psalm 44:25 esv
For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground.
Psalm 44:25 nlt
We collapse in the dust,
lying face down in the dirt.
Psalm 44 25 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 119:25 | My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word. | Direct echo of clinging to dust and need for revival |
| Ps 22:15 | My strength is dried up like a potsherd... You lay me in the dust of death. | Physical collapse and proximity to death |
| Ps 6:6 | I am weary with my groaning; every night I make my bed swim... | Profound personal distress and sorrow |
| Ps 13:1 | How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide...? | Feeling abandoned and forgotten by God |
| Ps 38:6 | I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long. | Physical and emotional posture of extreme sorrow |
| Ps 42:5-6 | Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? | Despair and inner turmoil of the soul |
| Ps 71:20 | You who have shown me many troubles... will bring me up again from the depths. | Brought low, but with hope of rising |
| Ps 79:8-9 | Do not remember against us the iniquities... Help us, O God of our salvation. | Communal plea for deliverance from distress |
| Ps 116:3 | The cords of death encompassed me and the terrors of Sheol came upon me. | Surrounded by death's grip and extreme sorrow |
| Ps 142:3 | When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path. | Spirit overwhelmed by suffering |
| Gen 3:19 | By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground... | Human mortality and return to dust |
| Job 2:8 | And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes. | Extreme humility and physical suffering |
| Job 42:6 | Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes. | Repentance in humility and abasement |
| Isa 26:19 | Your dead will live... your land will give birth to the departed spirits. | Future resurrection from the dust of the earth |
| Isa 64:8 | But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter. | Acknowledging utter dependence and helplessness |
| Lam 3:20 | My soul still remembers and is bowed down within me. | Soul weighed down by past sorrows |
| Jonah 2:6 | I sank down to the roots of the mountains; The earth with its bars was around me. | Extreme depths of despair and feeling trapped |
| Dan 12:2 | Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake... | Waking from dust, reflecting Ps 44's plea to "Awake" |
| Matt 26:39 | And He... fell on His face and prayed... yet not as I will, but as You will. | Prostration in deep spiritual agony and submission |
| 2 Cor 1:8-9 | We were burdened excessively, beyond our strength... despaired even of life. | Deep affliction leading to despair and reliance on God |
| Rom 8:26 | The Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray... | Human helplessness in prayer, deep groanings |
| Luke 13:11 | And there was a woman... bent double, and could not straighten up at all. | Physical manifestation of being "bowed down" |
Psalm 44 verses
Psalm 44 25 Meaning
The verse expresses the deepest level of national humiliation, distress, and helplessness experienced by the community. Their spiritual and emotional being ("soul") is utterly prostrated, metaphorically touching the very dust of the earth, signifying extreme abasement, grief, and a sense of profound indignity. Simultaneously, their physical being ("body") is depicted as glued or clinging to the ground, portraying total exhaustion, immobility, and a state of being overwhelmed by their afflictions, unable to rise or escape their dire circumstances. It conveys a complete lack of strength and an desperate need for divine intervention.
Psalm 44 25 Context
Psalm 44 is a communal lament from the sons of Korah. The surrounding verses reveal a paradox: the people remember God's mighty acts of deliverance in the past (vv. 1-8), attributing their initial success and land possession not to their own strength but to God's favor. Crucially, they affirm their faithfulness to God and His covenant (vv. 9-22), declaring they have not apostatized or forgotten Him. Despite this declared loyalty, they find themselves in a state of national catastrophe – defeated by enemies, disgraced, scattered, and suffering intense shame. Verse 25 expresses the ultimate low point of this suffering, the depths of their prostration. The lament culminates in a fervent plea for God to "Awake!" (v. 23) and "Rise up for our help!" (v. 26), as they perceive themselves abandoned by a sleeping God, though they acknowledge Him as their King and Deliverer. Historically, this psalm resonates with any period of Israelite distress where suffering seemed inexplicable despite their devotion, possibly reflecting events during the Assyrian or Babylonian invasions or other national humiliations.
Psalm 44 25 Word analysis
- For (כִּי, kī): This conjunction introduces the reason or explanation for the preceding cries and perceived abandonment. It grounds the urgent plea of "Awake!" by elaborating on the depth of their suffering.
- our soul (נַפְשֵׁנוּ, nafšēnū): Refers to the inner self, the very essence of their being, vitality, or life-breath. It encompasses mind, will, and emotions. This is not merely a surface feeling but profound inner anguish affecting their very existence as a community.
- is bowed down (שָׁחָה, šāḥāh): Literally means "to bow low," "to stoop," "to sink," or "to be brought low." It signifies a posture of extreme humiliation, submission, defeat, or profound depression. It implies a loss of dignity and strength.
- to the dust (לֶעָפָר, leʿāfār): "Dust" represents the lowest, most insignificant, and fragile state. It is symbolic of death, decay, humiliation, extreme poverty, and worthlessness (e.g., humans are formed from dust and return to it). For the soul to be bowed to dust means complete degradation and deep sorrow, as if at death's door.
- our body (בִּטְנֵנוּ, biṭnēnū): While literally "our belly," in poetic Hebrew, this can often signify the inner parts, or the whole person as physically affected. Here, it stands in parallel to "soul," representing their entire physical existence, the visible manifestation of their internal despair. It suggests an intense, all-encompassing affliction.
- clings (דָבְקָה, dāveqāh): "To cleave," "stick fast," "be glued to." It implies an unwilling adherence, a forceful attachment that cannot be broken. It's not a voluntary closeness but a desperate, immobilizing connection to the ground, reflecting an inability to rise or move forward.
- to the ground (לָאָרֶץ, lāʾāreṣ): Similar to "dust," referring to the physical earth. It emphasizes the immobility and physical prostration, highlighting their total helplessness and entrapment in their present condition, unable to escape or even lift themselves up.
- our soul is bowed down to the dust: This phrase depicts absolute internal despondency and external humiliation. It's the profound anguish of their corporate being, indicating that their collective identity and spirit have been utterly debased and defeated, feeling close to spiritual death.
- our body clings to the ground: This imagery vividly portrays their physical and existential helplessness. They are not merely lying down; they are stuck, fastened to the earth by the immense weight of their suffering, symbolizing a complete loss of national vigor and a state of utter paralysis in the face of their adversaries.
Psalm 44 25 Bonus section
The deep suffering expressed in Psalm 44:25 stands in stark contrast to the initial confidence and remembrance of God's past victories (vv. 1-8). This makes the current distress all the more incomprehensible and painful for the community. The "dust" imagery throughout the Bible signifies not only death and lowliness but also the state from which God creates and can bring forth life (e.g., Gen 2:7, Job 10:9). Thus, their being "bowed down to the dust" hints at their awareness that only the One who can raise from dust can lift them from their plight. This verse, like the whole psalm, validates lament as a legitimate form of prayer for God's people, even when their circumstances seem to contradict His character or promises. It gives voice to the righteous who suffer inexplicable trials, providing a pattern for bringing such burdens directly to God.
Psalm 44 25 Commentary
Psalm 44:25 articulates the raw, unvarnished agony of a people experiencing deep and bewildering suffering. This verse is not just about physical discomfort; it portrays an existential crisis. The soul's "bowing to the dust" reveals an inner spiritual collapse, a loss of hope and dignity so severe that it brings them to the very brink of non-existence or spiritual death. This is coupled with the physical image of the "body clinging to the ground," which concretizes their utter lack of strength, their inability to act, resist, or even stand upright in the face of their trials. It underscores their complete dependence on God, acknowledging that without His intervention, they are permanently incapacitated and submerged in their misery. The striking aspect of Psalm 44 is their plea of innocence, claiming they have not broken the covenant, making their suffering profoundly perplexing and amplifying their cry for God to "awake" and act. The verse functions as the ultimate expression of despair, forming the backdrop for their urgent and direct appeal to God in the subsequent verses.