Psalm 43:5
ESV
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
NIV
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
NASB
Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.
CSB
Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.
NLT
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Savior and my God!
KJV
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
NKJV
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
What does Psalm 43:5 mean?
The psalmist repeats his refrain from Psalm 42:5 and 11 in the closing verse of Psalm 43. The statement made here is not inquiring, even though it is phrased as a question. This "rhetorical" technique is used when the answer should seem obvious. If we understand the power and faithfulness of God, we have no reason to be anxious or afraid. Of course, as limited people, those are natural temptations. Psalms such as this are helpful reminders of the great hope we have in the Lord. Instead of looking around into the world, letting difficult circumstances dismay him, the psalmist chose to look above, to his God, who would deliver him and return him to the sanctuary in Jerusalem.First-century believers were hounded and hunted, chased out of their homes, and scattered throughout the Mediterranean region, but the apostle Peter fixed their hope on Christ and their glorious future. He writes: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3–4).
