Psalms 17:5 — Word Study
WLCתָּמֹ֣ךְ אֲ֭שֻׁרַי בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתֶ֑יךָ בַּל־ נָמ֥וֹטּוּ פְעָמָֽי׃
BSAMy stepsʼâshur [the act of walking, progress] have heldtâmak [to grasp, uphold] to Your pathsmaʻgâl [track, way of life] my feetpaʻam [beat, footstep] have notbal [absence of] slippedmôwṭ■ [to shake, waver]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| תָּמֹ֣ךְ | they have held firm | Verb, Qal, infinitive absolute |
| אֲ֭שֻׁרַי | steps my | Noun common masculine plural construct, suffix |
| בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתֶ֑יךָ | in tracks your | Preposition, noun common feminine plural construct, suffix |
| בַּל־ | not | Particle |
| נָמ֥וֹטּוּ | they have been shaken | Verb, Niphal, perfect third person common plural |
| פְעָמָֽי׃ | footsteps my | Noun common masculine plural construct, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped. |
| KJV | Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. |
| ASV | My steps have held fast to thy paths, My feet have not slipped. |
| YLT | To uphold my goings in Thy paths, My steps have not slidden. |
| WEB | My steps have held fast to your paths. My feet have not slipped. |
| BBE | I have kept my feet in your ways, my steps have not been turned away. |
The translations agree on the essential meaning here, reflecting the psalmist's commitment to God's paths.
The sentence presents a main clause followed by a prepositional phrase and a second main clause, clearly outlining the psalmist's confidence.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbתָּמַךְ
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Psalms 17:5
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — A Prayer for Deliverancegenerated
Psalm 17:5 is a declaration of the psalmist's steadfastness in following the paths laid out by God. In the surrounding verses, the psalmist contrasts his commitment to God's ways with the actions of the violent, showing a clear distinction between his own integrity and the chaos around him. This prayer emphasizes reliance on God for protection and guidance.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psalm 119:116–117 | Sustain me as You promised, that I may live; let me not be ashamed of my hope. |
| 2 | Psalm 121:3–7 | He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. |
| 3 | 1 Samuel 2:9 | He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail. |
| 4 | Jeremiah 10:23 | I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps. |
| 5 | Psalm 18:36 | You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — תָּמֹ֣ךְ, ta.Mokhgenerated
The verb תָּמַךְ (tamak) is a Qal infinitive absolute, meaning to grasp or hold firm. It conveys a sense of support and stability, indicating that the psalmist's steps are firmly planted in God's paths.
This word is commonly used in contexts of assistance and support, suggesting that the psalmist is not merely walking but is actively maintaining his course in alignment with God's will.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses have held for תָּמֹ֣ךְ, consistent with the KJV and ASV that also emphasize the firmness of the psalmist's steps.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb תָּמֹ֣ךְ governs the clause, indicating the psalmist's action of holding firm. This is followed by a prepositional phrase describing the object of his action, and a second clause that states the negative outcome of his feet not slipping.
The structure emphasizes the psalmist's active engagement in walking the path God has set, with a clear statement of stability contrasted with potential instability.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates תָּמֹ֣ךְ as κατάρτισαι, which suggests a sense of restoration or making complete. This choice indicates an interpretation that emphasizes not just holding firm, but also being made whole in the process of following God's paths.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Psalm 17:5 expresses the psalmist's confidence in following God's ways, stating that his steps are secure and he has not wavered. This reflects a deep trust in God's guidance and a commitment to living according to His paths.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Holding firm to God's paths means actively choosing to follow His guidance and principles in life, ensuring that one's actions align with His will.
We can ensure our steps do not slip by continually seeking God's guidance through prayer, scripture, and community support.
The psalmist's declaration highlights a personal commitment to integrity and faithfulness, contrasting with the actions of the violent.
This verse encapsulates the theme of reliance on God for protection and guidance amidst adversity, showcasing the psalmist's steadfastness.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways can I actively hold firm to God's paths in my daily life?
- What practices can help me maintain my commitment to following God's guidance?
- How do I respond when I feel my steps are slipping or uncertain?
- What examples from scripture can inspire me to remain steadfast like the psalmist?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early Christian writers have commented on this verse, emphasizing the importance of following God's paths and the assurance found in His guidance.
Even if now [the way] is full of pain and without joy, later it will bear the fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained in it.Early Church Fathers on Psalms 17 →
"To perfect My steps in Your paths" [Psalms 17:5]. That the love of the Church might be perfected in the strait ways, whereby she arrives at Your rest.Early Church Fathers on Psalms 17 →
Never by our sole diligence or zeal or by our most tireless efforts can we reach perfection. Human zeal is not enough to win the sublime rewards of blessedness. The Lord must be there to help us and to guide our hearts toward what is good.Early Church Fathers on Psalms 17 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Psalms 17:5 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleHold up my goings in thy paths,.... Which being spoken by David in his own person, and for himself, shows that he was conscious of his own weakness to keep himself in the ways of God, and to direct
Read John Gill on Psalms 17 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryHold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. Hold up my goings in thy paths, (that) my footsteps slip not - a beautiful supplement to Psalms 17:4, "I have kept me from the paths of the
Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 17 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleAs by thy word and grace thou hast hitherto kept me from the paths of evil men, and led me into thy paths; so, I pray thee, enable me by the same means to persevere in thy ways, and in mine abhorrency of wicked courses, that I may not fall into that sin of revenging myself upon Saul, to which I may be more and more tempted; nor into any other sin, whereby thou mayst be provoked, or men may be offended, and religion disgraced.
Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 17 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsPsalms 17:5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, [that] my footsteps slip not.Ver. 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, &c.] Keep me within the circle of thy word, as thou hitherto hast done; make me to walk exactly, and as in a frame, Ephesians 5:15. Grant me thy preventing, concomitant, and subsequent grace: O thou God of all grace, perfect, strengthen, stablish me, 1 Peter 5:10. That my footsteps slip not] By the malice of Satan, who seeks to subvert such as are most eminent, to the scandal of the weak, and scorn of the wicked; by the corruption also of mine own heart, Qua quisque sibi Satan est, as one well saith, whereby every man is a Satan to himself: could we but divorce the flesh from the…
Read John Trapp on Psalms 17 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5) Hold up.—Not, as in the Authorised Version, imperative, which is directly opposed to the context. The psalmist still asserts his innocence. Render:— My course kept close in thy tracks, My footsteps have not wavered. (Comp. Job 23:11; Psalms 41:12.) Paths.—Literally, wheel-tracks.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Psalms 17 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths] David walked in God's ways; but, without Divine assistance, he could not walk steadily, even in them. The words of God's lips had shown him the steps he was to take, and he implores the strength of God's grace to enable him to walk in those steps. He had been kept from the paths of the destroyer; but this was not sufficient; he must walk in God's paths-must spend his life in obedience to the Divine will. Negative holiness can save no man. "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
Read AdamClarke on Psalms 17 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges5. My steps have held fast to thy tracks, My feet have not slipped. The A.V. is grammatically untenable. He describes his conduct positively. Paths, a different word from that in Psalms 17:4, denotes the beaten tracks made by wheeled vehicles. Slipped (the same word as moved in Psalms 15:5, Psalms 16:8), of moral ‘slips’ and ‘falls.’
Read Cambridge on Psalms 17 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleHold up my goings in thy paths - He had been enabled before this to keep himself from the ways of the violent by the word of God Psalms 17:4; he felt his dependence on God still to enable him, in the
Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 17 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.
My steps have held fast to your paths. My feet have not slipped.
My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.
I carefully obey your commands; I do not deviate from them.
Tyndale line
Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
My steps have held fast to thy paths, My feet have not slipped.
My steps have held fast to thy paths, my feet have not slipped.
Uphold my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
Stay my steps in thy paths, that my feete doe not slide.
Strictly literal
When thou holdest my goings in thy paths, my footsteps slip not.
To uphold my goings in Thy paths, My steps have not slidden.
To uphold my goings in Your paths, || My steps have not slipped.
My steps held firmly to thy tracks, [and] my footsteps did not slip.
My steps have held firmly to your tracks; my feet have not slipped.
From the Latin
The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me.
Simplified
I have not strayed from your path; my feet have not slipped from it.
I have kept my feet in your ways, my steps have not been turned away.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree closely in wording, with a complete match in the translation of the key terms. The Dead Sea Scrolls show one word on the leather and several others that were supplied by an editor, indicating some level of restoration but maintaining the core message of the psalm.
תָּמֹ֣ךְ אֲ֭שֻׁרַי בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתֶ֑יךָ בַּל־ נָמ֥וֹטּוּ פְעָמָֽי׃
6 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
תמך אשר׳י [במעגלותי׳ך] [בל] [נמוטו] [פעמ׳י]
1 word on the leather — 1 partly restored, 4 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Psalms 17:5
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
The Hebrew word תָּמַךְ (tamak) is a primitive root meaning to grasp, support, or attain. It covers actions like holding fast, maintaining, and helping. The Qal form includes meanings such as to hold up or keep, while the Niphal form suggests being seized or held. There are no significant disagreements among the lexicons.
[תָּמַךְ] vb. grasp, support, attain
Qal
grasp, lay hold of
hold up, support
hold, keep
Niph. in the cords of his sin is he seized
base
H8551 תָּמַךְ grasp, support, attain
8551 tamak taw-mak'
a primitive root; to sustain; by implication, to obtain, keep
fast; figuratively, to help, follow close:--(take, up-)hold
(up), maintain, retain, stay (up).
תָּמַךְ (ta.makh) — to grasp.
1) to grasp, hold, support, attain, lay hold of, hold fast
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to grasp, lay hold of, attain
1a2) to hold up, support
1a3) to hold, keep
1a4) to take hold of each other
1b) (Niphal) to be seized, be held
V-Qal-Ptc — Verb · Qal · infinitive absoluteHVqaa
אֲשׁוּר (ashur) and אַשֻּׁר (ashshur) both mean 'step' or 'going.' They are derived from the same root and represent the concept of movement or progression. The entries consistently emphasize this meaning without significant disagreement among the lexicons.
[אֲשׁוּר, אָשׁוּר] n.f. step, going
base
[אַשֻּׁר] n.f. step, going
base
H838a אֲשׁוּר, אָשׁוּר step, going H838b אַשֻּׁר step, going
838 'ashur aw-shoor'
or ashshur {ash-shoor'}; from 833 in the sense of going; a
step:--going, step.
see HEBREW for 0833
אֲשׁוּר (a.shur) — step.
step, going
Also means: a.shur (אַשֻּׁר "step" H0838B)
אַשֻּׁר (a.shur) — step.
step, going
Another spelling of a.shur (אֲשׁוּר "step" H0838A)
N-fp | Suff — Noun common masculine plural construct · suffixHNcmpc/Sp1bs
מַעְגָּל (ma`gal) refers to a track or entrenchment, with meanings that include a literal path or figurative way. It can also denote a circular rampart or trench. The entries consistently emphasize its use in contexts related to movement or fortification.
מַעְגָּל n.m. 1. entrenchment. 2. track
base
H4570 מַעְגָּל 1. entrenchment. 2. track
4570 ma`gal mah-gawl'
or feminine mapgalah {mah-gaw-law'}; from the same as 5696; a
track (literally or figuratively); also a rampart (as
circular):--going, path, trench, way((-side)).
see HEBREW for 05696
מַעְגָּל (ma.gal) — track.
1) entrenchment, track
1a) circumvallation, entrenchment
1b) track
Prep | N-mp | Suff — Preposition · noun common feminine plural construct · suffixHR/Ncfpc/Sp2ms
בַּל (bal) is an adverb meaning 'not' or 'none.' It conveys a sense of negation, indicating absence or failure. The word is derived from a root that implies nothingness and can also be used in contexts like 'lest' or 'neither.' The entries consistently emphasize its function as a negation in various forms.
בַּל 69 adv. not
base
H1077 בַּל not
1077 bal bal
from 1086; properly, a failure; by implication nothing;
usually (adverb) not at all; also lest:--lest, neither, no,
none (that...), not (any), nothing.
see HEBREW for 01086
בַּל (bal) — not.
not, hardly, else
Part — ParticleHTn
מוֹט (mot) is a Hebrew verb meaning to totter, shake, or slip. It has various forms, including Qal (to totter), Niphal (to be shaken), Hiphil (to dislodge), and Hithpael (to be greatly shaken). The entries indicate a range of meanings related to instability and movement, but do not specify any particular Old Testament verses.
[מוֹט] vb. totter, shake, slip
Qal totter, slip
Niph. be shaken, moved, overthrown
Hiph. dislodge, let fall, drop
Hithpo‛l. be greatly shaken
base
H4131 [מוֹט] totter, shake, slip
4131 mowt mote
a primitive root; to waver; by implication , to slip, shake,
fall:--be carried, cast, be out of course, be fallen in
decay, X exceedingly, fall(-ing down), be (re-)moved, be
ready, shake, slide, slip.
מוֹט (mot) — to shake.
1) to totter, shake, slip
1a) (Qal) to totter, shake, slip
1b) (Niphal) to be shaken, be moved, be overthrown
1c) (Hiphil) to dislodge, let fall, drop
1d) (Hithpael) to be greatly shaken
V-Niphal-Perf-3cp — Verb · Niphal · perfect third person common pluralHVNp3cp
פַּ֫עַם (pa'am) refers to a beat or stroke, and encompasses meanings such as foot, anvil, and occurrence. It can denote a footstep or time, indicating repetitions like once, twice, or thrice. The word is built from a root that suggests various applications related to rhythm and timing.
פַּ֫עַם 118 n.f. beat, foot, anvil, occurrence
base
H6471 פַּ֫עַם beat, foot, anvil, occurrence
6471 pa`am pah'-am
or (feminine) pa;amah {pah-am-aw'}; from 6470; a stroke,
literally or figuratively (in various applications, as
follow):--anvil, corner, foot(-step), going, (hundred-)fold,
X now, (this) + once, order, rank, step, + thrice, ((often-)),
second, this, two) time(-s), twice, wheel.
see HEBREW for 06470
פַּ֫עַם (pa.am) — beat.
1) stroke, beat, foot, step, anvil, occurrence
1a) foot, hoof-beat, footfall, footstep
1b) anvil
1c) occurrence, time, stroke, beat
1c1) one time, once, twice, thrice, as time on time, at this repetition, this once, now at length, now...now, at one time...at another
N-fp | Suff — Noun common masculine plural construct · suffixHNcmpc/Sp1bs