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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Psalms 28:2

I lift my hands and pray toward your Most Holy Place. Hear me when I call to you. Show mercy to me.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Church;   Oracle;   Prayer;   Thompson Chain Reference - Hands;   Lifting up Hands;   The Topic Concordance - Rendering;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Prayer;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Church;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Prayer;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Divination;   Prayer;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Lift;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - English Versions;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Hand;   Prayer;   Psalms;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Benediction;   Gestures;   Heaven ;   Veil;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Oracle;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Psalms the book of;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Prayer;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Lift;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bible, the;   Holy of Holies;   Oracle;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Hand;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Listen to the sound of my pleadingwhen I cry to you for help,when I lift up my handstoward your holy sanctuary.
Hebrew Names Version
Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, When I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
King James Version
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
English Standard Version
Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
New Century Version
Hear the sound of my prayer, when I cry out to you for help. I raise my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
New English Translation
Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help, when I lift my hands toward your holy temple!
Amplified Bible
Hear the voice of my supplication (specific requests, humble entreaties) as I cry to You for help, As I lift up my hands and heart toward Your innermost sanctuary (Holy of Holies).
New American Standard Bible
Hear the sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help, When I raise my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
World English Bible
Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, When I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Heare the voyce of my petitions, when I crie vnto thee, when I holde vp mine handes towarde thine holy Oracle.
Legacy Standard Bible
Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help,When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
Berean Standard Bible
Hear my cry for mercy when I call to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
Contemporary English Version
Please listen to my prayer and my cry for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy temple.
Complete Jewish Bible
Hear the sound of my prayers when I cry to you, when I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
Darby Translation
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward the oracle of thy holiness.
George Lamsa Translation
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy temple.
Good News Translation
Hear me when I cry to you for help, when I lift my hands toward your holy Temple.
Lexham English Bible
Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your holy inner sanctuary.
Literal Translation
Hear the voice of my prayers in my crying to You, when I lift my hands toward Your Holy of Holies.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Heare the voyce of my humble peticion, when I crie vnto the, and holde vp my hondes towarde thy holy temple.
American Standard Version
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, When I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
Bible in Basic English
Give ear to the voice of my prayer, when I am crying to you, when my hands are lifted up to your holy place.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto Thee,
King James Version (1611)
Heare the voyce of my supplications, when I cry vnto thee: when I lift vp my handes toward thy holy Oracle.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Heare the voyce of my humble petitions when I crye vnto thee: when I holde vp my handes towarde thy holy place where thy arke is.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Hearken to the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy temple.
English Revised Version
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Lord, here thou the vois of my bisechyng, while Y preie to thee; whyle Y reise myn hondis to thin hooli temple.
Update Bible Version
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry to you, When I lift up my hands toward your holy oracle.
Webster's Bible Translation
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry to thee, when I lift my hands towards thy holy oracle.
New King James Version
Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
New Living Translation
Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
New Life Bible
Hear my cry for loving-kindness as I call to You for help, and when I lift up my hands to Your holy place.
New Revised Standard
Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Hear the voice of my supplication, when I cry to thee for help, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy shrine.
Douay-Rheims Bible
(27-2) Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple.
Revised Standard Version
Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to thee for help, as I lift up my hands toward thy most holy sanctuary.
Young's Literal Translation
Hear the voice of my supplications, In my crying unto Thee, In my lifting up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
THE MESSAGE
I'm letting you know what I need, calling out for help And lifting my arms toward your inner sanctum.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

Contextual Overview

1

A song of David.

Lord , you are my Rock. I am calling to you for help. Don't close your ears to my prayers. If you don't answer me, I will be counted among the dead. 2 I lift my hands and pray toward your Most Holy Place. Hear me when I call to you. Show mercy to me. 3 Don't treat me like the evil people who do wicked things. They greet their neighbors like friends, but secretly plan to hurt them. 4 They do bad things to others, so make bad things happen to them. Give them the punishment they deserve. 5 They don't notice what the Lord does. They ignore all the good things he has made. So instead of building them up, he will destroy them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Psalms 63:4, Psalms 125:5, Psalms 134:2, Psalms 141:2, Psalms 143:6, 2 Chronicles 6:13, 1 Timothy 2:8

thy holy oracle: or, the oracle of thy sanctuary, Psalms 5:7, Psalms 138:2, 1 Kings 6:19, 1 Kings 6:22, 1 Kings 6:23, 1 Kings 8:6-8, 1 Kings 8:28-30, 1 Kings 8:38, Daniel 6:10

Reciprocal: Leviticus 9:22 - his hand 2 Samuel 16:23 - as if 1 Kings 6:5 - oracle 1 Kings 8:22 - General 2 Chronicles 4:20 - the oracle 2 Chronicles 6:12 - spread forth Nehemiah 8:6 - with lifting Job 33:26 - pray Psalms 18:3 - I will Psalms 61:1 - Hear Psalms 140:6 - hear Psalms 142:1 - with my voice Lamentations 2:19 - lift up Lamentations 3:41 - with Micah 1:2 - the Lord from

Cross-References

Genesis 24:10
The servant took ten of Abraham's camels and left that place. The servant carried with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Mesopotamia, to Nahor's city.
Genesis 24:29
She had a brother named Laban. She told him what the man had said to her. Laban was listening to her. And when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, he ran out to the well. There the man was, standing by the camels at the well.
Genesis 24:50
Then Laban and Bethuel answered, "We see that this is from the Lord , so there is nothing we can say to change it.
Genesis 25:20
When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was from Paddan Aram. She was Bethuel's daughter and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
Genesis 28:5
So Isaac sent Jacob to Rebekah's brother in Paddan Aram. Jacob went to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Genesis 28:15
"I am with you, and I will protect you everywhere you go. I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised."
Genesis 28:20
Then Jacob made a promise. He said, "If God will be with me, and if he will protect me on this trip, and if he gives me food to eat and clothes to wear,
Genesis 29:1
Then Jacob continued his trip. He went to the country in the East.
Genesis 31:18
Then they began traveling back to the land of Canaan, where his father lived. All the flocks of animals that Jacob owned walked ahead of them. He carried everything with him that he had gotten while he lived in Paddan Aram.
Genesis 32:10
You have been very kind to me. You did many good things for me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I owned nothing—only my walking stick. But now I own enough things to have two full groups.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Hear the voice of my supplications,.... Which proceed from the Spirit of grace and of supplication, and are put up in an humble manner, under a sense of wants and unworthiness, and on the foot of grace and mercy, and not merit;

when I cry unto thee; as he now did, and determined he would, and continue so doing, until he was heard;

when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle: the holy of holies, in the tabernacle and in the temple, which was sometimes so called, 1 Kings 6:23; compared with 2 Chronicles 3:10; where were the ark, the mercy seat, and cherubim, between which the Lord dwelt, and gave responses to his people; or heaven itself, which the holy of holies was a figure of; where is the throne of God, and from whence he hears the prayers of his people directed to him; or else Christ himself, who is the most Holy, and the "Debir", or Oracle, who speaks to the Lord for his people; and by whom the Lord speaks to them again, and communes with them. The oracle had its name, "debir", from speaking. Lifting up of the hands is a prayer gesture, and here designs the performance of that duty to God in heaven, through Christ; see Lamentations 3:41; it was frequently used, even by the Heathens, as a prayer gesture r; see Psalms 141:2.

r "Duplices manus ad sidera tendit--et paulo post--et ambas ad coelum tendit palmas", Virgil. Aeneid. 10. vid. Aeneid. 2. "Ad coelum manibus sublatis", Horat. Satyr. l. 2. satyr. 5. v. 97. "Coelo supines si tuleris manus", ib. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 23. v. 1. "Et pandere palmas ante Deum delubra", Lucretius l. 5. prope finem

δη χειρα ανασχων, Homer. Iliad. 5. v. 174.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hear the voice of my supplications - It was not mental prayer which he offered; it was a petition uttered audibly.

When I lift up my hands - To lift up the hands denotes supplication, as this was a common attitude in prayer. See the notes at 1 Timothy 2:8.

Toward thy holy oracle - Margin, as in Hebrew, “toward the oracle of thy holiness.” The word “oracle” as used here denotes the place where the answer to prayer is given. The Hebrew word - דביר debı̂yr - means properly the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle or the temple, the place where God was supposed to reside, and where He gave responses to the prayers of His people: the same place which is elsewhere called the holy of holies. See the notes at Hebrews 9:3-14. The Hebrew word is found only here and in 1 Kings 6:5, 1 Kings 6:16, 1Ki 6:19-23, 1 Kings 6:31; 1Ki 7:49; 1 Kings 8:6, 1Ki 8:8; 2 Chronicles 3:16; 2 Chronicles 4:20; 2 Chronicles 5:7, 2 Chronicles 5:9. The idea here is that he who prayed stretched out his hands toward that sacred place where God was supposed to dwell. So we stretch out our hands toward heaven - the sacred dwelling-place of God. Compare the notes at Psalms 5:7. The Hebrew word is probably derived from the verb to “speak;” and, according to this derivation, the idea is that God spoke to His people; that he “communed” with them; that He answered their prayers from that sacred recess - His special dwelling-place. See Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 28:2. Toward thy holy oracle. — דביר קדשך debir kodshecha; debir properly means that place in the holy of holies from which God gave oracular answers to the high priest. This is a presumptive proof that there was a temple now standing; and the custom of stretching out the hands in prayer towards the temple, when the Jews were at a distance from it, is here referred to.


 
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