Psalms 77:12 — Word Study
WLCוְהָגִ֥יתִי בְכָל־ פָּעֳלֶ֑ךָ וּֽבַעֲלִ֖ילוֹתֶ֣יךָ אָשִֽׂיחָה׃
BSAto rememberzâkar to rememberzâkar deedmaʻălâl LORDYâhh forkîy to rememberzâkar frontqedem wonderpeleʼ
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְהָגִ֥יתִי | and I will meditate | Verb, Qal, sequential perfect first person common singular |
| בְכָל־ | on all | Preposition, noun common masculine singular construct |
| פָּעֳלֶ֑ךָ | work your | Noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| וּֽבַעֲלִ֖ילוֹתֶ֣יךָ | and on deeds your | Conjunction, preposition, noun common feminine plural construct |
| אָשִֽׂיחָה׃ | I will meditate | Verb, Qal, infinitive construct first person common singular |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds. |
| KJV | I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. |
| ASV | I will meditate also upon all thy work, And muse on thy doings. |
| YLT | And I have meditated on all Thy working, And I talk concerning Thy doings. |
| WEB | I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings. |
| BBE | I will give thought to all your work, while my mind goes over your acts of power. |
All translations agree on the essence of the verse, emphasizing the psalmist's intention to meditate on God's works.
The structure features a main clause followed by a prepositional phrase and a noun phrase, indicating the psalmist's reflective process.




5 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
verbמַעֲלָל
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 77:12
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 — Meditation on God's Deedsgenerated
Psalm 77:12 is part of a reflective passage where the psalmist recalls the mighty works of God. This meditation is a response to the psalmist's earlier remembrance of God's wonders, as seen in verse 11. The psalmist's intention is to engage deeply with God's actions and to articulate those thoughts, highlighting the importance of remembering God's faithfulness and power in times of trouble.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psalm 104:34 | May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD. |
| 2 | Psalm 143:5 | I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. |
| 3 | Psalm 71:24 | My tongue will indeed proclaim Your righteousness all day long, for those who seek my harm are disgraced and confounded. |
| 4 | Psalm 105:2 | Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders. |
| 5 | Psalm 145:4–11 | One generation will commend Your works to the next, and will proclaim Your mighty acts— |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — הָגִ֥יתִי, ha.Gi.tigenerated
The verb הָגָה (hagah) means to meditate or ponder. It is derived from a root that implies vocal expression, suggesting a deep, contemplative process that may involve muttering or murmuring thoughts aloud. The parsing indicates a sequential perfect form, showing a completed action in the first person singular, emphasizing the psalmist's personal commitment to this reflection.
This meditation is not merely a passive thought but an active engagement with God's deeds, as the psalmist seeks to understand and articulate the significance of what God has done.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
All translations agree on the essence of the verse, emphasizing the psalmist's intention to meditate on God's works and ponder His deeds.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb הָגִ֥יתִי governs the sentence, indicating the psalmist's action of meditation. The structure includes a prepositional phrase detailing the object of meditation, followed by a noun phrase that specifies the works of God.
The second verb אָשִֽׂיחָה introduces a parallel action, reinforcing the psalmist's intention to engage with God's deeds through both reflection and consideration.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates the key term for 'works' as ἔργων (ergōn), which carries a similar meaning but lacks the depth of meditation implied in the Hebrew. This choice reflects a more straightforward rendering of the concept of God's actions.
The translation indicates a focus on the acts themselves rather than the process of reflection, suggesting a different interpretative approach by the translators.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Psalm 77:12 expresses the psalmist's desire to think deeply about all that God has done and to consider His powerful deeds. This meditation is part of a larger reflection on God's past actions, emphasizing the importance of remembering His faithfulness.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Meditating on God's works involves reflecting deeply on His actions and understanding their significance in our lives, as the psalmist does in this verse.
Remembering God's deeds helps strengthen our faith and provides encouragement during difficult times, reminding us of His power and faithfulness.
You can practice meditation by taking time to reflect on specific instances of God's faithfulness in your life, perhaps journaling or praying about those experiences.
Examples include His creation of the world, the miracles performed in the Bible, and personal experiences of His guidance and provision in our lives.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What specific deeds of God have I witnessed in my life that I can reflect on?
- How can I incorporate meditation on God's works into my daily routine?
- What challenges do I face when trying to remember and reflect on God's faithfulness?
- In what ways can reflecting on God's deeds impact my understanding of His character?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early commentary on this verse includes Augustine, who reflects on the act of meditation in relation to God's works.
"And I will meditate on all Your works, and on Your affections I will babble" [Psalms 77:12].Early Church Fathers on Psalms 77 →
Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Psalms 77:12 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleI will meditate also of all thy work,.... Or "works" (t), which were many; he desired not to forget any of them, but remember the multitude of his tender mercies, and not only call them to mind, but
Read John Gill on Psalms 77 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. -This is the transition point to hope.
Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 77 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsPsalms 77:12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.Ver. 12. I will meditate also of all thy works, and talk, &c.]
Read John Trapp on Psalms 77 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges12. I will meditate also upon all thy work, And muse on thy doings. (R.V.) For work cp. Habakkuk 3:2.
Read Cambridge on Psalms 77 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleI will meditate also of all thy work - That is, with a view to learn thy real character; to see whether I am to be constrained by painful facts to cherish the thoughts which have given me such
Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 77 →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
I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds.
I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings.
I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds.
I will think about all you have done; I will reflect upon your deeds!”
Tyndale line
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
I will meditate also upon all thy work, And muse on thy doings.
I will meditate also upon all thy work, and muse on thy doings.
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
I did also meditate all thy woorkes, and did deuise of thine actes, saying,
Strictly literal
And I will meditate upon all thy work, and muse upon thy doings.
And I have meditated on all Thy working, And I talk concerning Thy doings.
And I have meditated on all Your working, || And I talk concerning Your doings.
(77:13) I will meditate also of all thy work, and on thy deeds will I reflect.
I will ponder all your deeds and will reflect on them.
From the Latin
Wonderful things did he do in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.
Simplified
I will think about all you have accomplished; I will think deeply about how you have acted.
I will give thought to all your work, while my mind goes over your acts of power.
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 largely agree in content, with four out of five words matching. The differences in word order and articles in the Septuagint reflect its own syntactical structure rather than a significant variation in meaning.
וְהָגִ֥יתִי בְכָל־ פָּעֳלֶ֑ךָ וּֽבַעֲלִ֖ילוֹתֶ֣יךָ אָשִֽׂיחָה׃
4 of the 5 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.
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 77:12
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 הָגָה (hagah) encompasses a range of meanings related to vocal expressions, including to moan, growl, and utter. It can imply both inarticulate sounds and more deliberate actions like meditation and devising thoughts. The entries suggest uses in various contexts, including distress and magical mutterings, but do not indicate any significant disagreement among the lexicons.
הָגָה vb. moan, growl, utter, speak, muse (only poet.)
Qal
of inarticulate sounds
growl, of lion growling over prey
groan, moan, in distress (like dove)
utter
of inarticulate sounds
(soliloquize) meditate, muse
imagine, devise
Po. a conceiving and an uttering, out of the heart, lying words
Hiph. those that make chirpings and mutterings, of necromancers and wizards
base
H1897 הָגָה moan, growl, utter, speak, muse (only poet.) .. of inarticulate sounds . growl, of lion growling over prey
. groan, moan, in distress (like dove)
. utter
. of inarticulate sounds . (soliloquize) meditate, muse
. imagine, devise
. a conceiving and an uttering, out of the heart, lying words
. those that make chirpings and mutterings, of necromancers and wizards
1897 hagah daw-gaw'
a primitive root (compare 1901); to murmur (in pleasure or
anger); by implication, to ponder:--imagine, meditate, mourn,
mutter, roar, X sore, speak, study, talk, utter.
see HEBREW for 01901
הָגָה (ha.gah) — to mutter.
1) to moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot, speak
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to roar, growl, groan
1a2) to utter, speak
1a3) to meditate, devise, muse, imagine
1b) (Poal) to utter
1c) (Hiphil) to mutter
Hc/Vqq1cs — Verb · Qal · sequential perfect first person common singularHc/Vqq1cs
כֹּל (kol) means 'all' or 'the whole.' It can refer to totality, including every person or thing, and is often used with a following genitive to specify what is included. The term can also denote a broader sense of everything in existence or all circumstances of life. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.
כֹּל once כּוֹל n.m. the whole, all
with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
Absolutely:
without the art., all things, all
with the art. הַכֹּל
where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
base
H3605 כֹּל once כּוֹל the whole, all . with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
. Absolutely: . without the art., all things, all
. with the art. הַכֹּל . where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
. in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
3605 kol kole
or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole;
hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a
plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any
(manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as
many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole,
whoso(-ever).
see HEBREW for 03634
כֹּל (kol) — all.
1) all, the whole
1a) all, the whole of
1b) any, each, every, anything
1c) totality, everything
Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)
HR/Ncmsc — Preposition · noun common masculine singular constructHR/Ncmsc
ol: Used in various combinations, and with different meanings.
(1) All along, "Weeping all along as he went" (Jer 41:6), i.e. throughout the whole way he went, feigning equal concern with the men from Shiloh, etc., for the destruction of the Temple, so as to put them off their guard.
(2) All in all, "That God may be all in all" (1Co 15:28, Greek: panta en pasin, "all things in all (persons and) things"). "The universe, with all it comprises, will wholly answer to God's will and reflect His mind" (Dummelow).
פֹּ֫עַל (po'al) refers to an act or work, encompassing meanings like deed, thing done, and wages of work. It is noted as poetic and late in usage. The word is built from the root associated with action, and it can also imply acquisition, particularly of treasures.
פֹּ֫עַל 37 n.m. doing, deed, work (poet. and late)
deed, thing done
work, thing made
wages of work
acquisition of treasures
base
H6467 פֹּ֫עַל doing, deed, work (poet. and late)
6467 po`al po'-al
from 6466; an act or work (concretely):--act, deed, do,
getting, maker, work.
see HEBREW for 06466
פֹּ֫עַל (po.al) — work.
1) work, deed, doing
1a) deed, thing done
1b) work, thing made
1c) wages of work
1d) acquisition (of treasure)
HNcmsc/Sp2ms — Noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHNcmsc/Sp2ms
עֲלִילָה (aliylah) refers to wantonness or a deed, often implying negative connotations such as evil practices. It is derived from the root meaning to effect or perform, and can denote an act, work, or occasion. The entries consistently emphasize its association with bad deeds.
עֲלִילָה n.f. wantonness, deed
base
H5949 עֲלִילָה wantonness, deed
5949 `aliylah al-ee-law'
or malilah {al-ee-law'}; from 5953 in the sense of effecting;
an exploit (of God), or a performance (of man, often in a bad
sense); by implication, an opportunity:--act(-ion), deed,
doing, invention, occasion, work.
see HEBREW for 05953
עֲלִילָה (a.li.lah) — wantonness.
1) wantonness, deed, doing
1a) wantonness
1b) deed
1c) practices, evil deeds
HC/R/Ncfpc/Sp2ms — Conjunction · preposition · noun common feminine plural construct · suffixHC/R/Ncfpc/Sp2ms
שִׂיחַ (siyach) is a Hebrew verb meaning to muse or complain, encompassing a range of actions such as talking, singing, and meditating. It can imply conversing with oneself or aloud, and includes nuances of pondering and declaring thoughts. The entries consistently highlight its use in contexts of communication and reflection.
שִׂיחַ vb. denom. muse, complain, poet. talk (of)
Qal
complain
muse
talk (about), sing (of)
talk (with)
Pôl‛el meditate, consider
base
H7878 שִׂיחַ vb. denom. muse, complain, poet. talk of
7878 siyach see'-akh
a primitive root; to ponder, i.e. (by implication) converse
(with oneself, and hence, aloud) or (transitively) utter:--
commune, complain, declare, meditate, muse, pray, speak, talk
(with).
שִׂיחַ (si.ach) — to muse.
1) to put forth, mediate, muse, commune, speak, complain, ponder, sing
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to complain
1a2) to muse, meditate upon, study, ponder
1a3) to talk, sing, speak
1b) (Polel) to meditate, consider, put forth thoughts
HVqc1cs — Verb · Qal · infinitive construct first person common singularHVqc1cs
