Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 113:7 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 7. 7He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 113:7: Within “The high God raises poor and barren people,” the line “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth…” supplies one distinct parallel claim, image, address, or response.
Read It With
- Psalms 113:1–9
Read Psalms 113:7 with 113:1–9. Read alone, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the…” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 113:1–9, the communal voice carries the movement “The high God raises poor and barren people” as part of “The high God raises poor and barren people.” Its hymn form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 113:1–9 opens Psalm 113 with “Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD” and establishes the communal voice and “The high God raises poor and barren people” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 113:7 states or addresses a claim about divine character or action through “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out…” inside this poetic voice.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 113:1–9; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 113:1–9, the communal voice carries the movement “The high God raises poor and barren people” as part of “The high God raises poor and barren people.” Its hymn form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Reversal imagery dignifies vulnerable people; it does not promise every infertile person children or reduce women to motherhood.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 113:7 does not allow “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the…” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse states or addresses a claim about divine character or action through “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out…” inside this poetic voice. The complete movement is “The high God raises poor and barren people.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Reversal imagery dignifies vulnerable people; it does not promise every infertile person children or reduce women to motherhood.
What Remains True
Read “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the…” as part of the communal voice in “The high God raises poor and barren people.” Praise and prayer become truthful when they attend to people harmed by predatory power and pursue protection, generosity, and fair judgment. The local movement is “The high God raises poor and barren people.” The unit's reviewed limit is: Reversal imagery dignifies vulnerable people; it does not promise every infertile person children or reduce women to motherhood.
How It Can Shape Life
- Keep the movement “The high God raises poor and barren people” in view. Ask who is exposed or unheard in “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the…”, then take one accountable step toward material help, fair process, or protection. The textual reason is this verse's role: Psalm 113:7 states or addresses a claim about divine character or action through “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out…” inside this poetic voice.
Teach It Back
Retell Psalm 113:7 as one step in Book V. Name the movement “The high God raises poor and barren people,” explain “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the…,” keep Jewish meaning and any later reception distinguishable, give one fitting response, and reject this overreach: This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Reversal imagery dignifies vulnerable people; it does not promise every infertile person children or reduce women to motherhood.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Psalms 113:1–9 — The high God raises poor and barren peopleSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 113:1–9, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 113:1–9
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 113:1–9.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 113 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 113:1–9
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 113:1–9
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 113 for Psalms 113:1–9
Open NETS Psalms ↗