Psalm 118:5
ESV
Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.
NIV
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.
NASB
From my distress I called upon the Lord; The Lord answered me and put me in an open space.
CSB
I called to the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place.
NLT
In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.
KJV
I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.
NKJV
I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
What does Psalm 118:5 mean?
Some scholars think this psalm was written to celebrate Israel's return from exile (Ezra 2:1). If so, the psalmist is using a single-person voice to symbolize the entire nation. The Hebrew term for "distress" is mē'sar', which refers to anguish and hardship. This word derives from the same root as one used by the prophet Jonah while inside a sea creature (Jonah 1:17; 2:1). From this, the people were rescued when God brought them back from captivity by a foreign nation.Even after being released, the people were under various forms of distress. The worst of these were hostile neighboring nations (Nehemiah 4:7–9). This psalm not only celebrates what God has done in the past, but it also claims assurance about the future (Psalm 118:6–7).
