Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 116:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 116:15: Within “Love and thanksgiving after mortal danger: Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows,” the line “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of…” supplies one distinct parallel claim, image, address, or response.
Read It With
- Psalms 116:10–19
- Psalms 116:1–19
Read Psalms 116:15 with 116:10–19 and 116:1–19. Read alone, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his…” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 116:10–19, the individual voice carries the movement “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows” as part of “Love and thanksgiving after mortal danger.” Its thanksgiving form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 116:10–19 brings toward culmination “Love, heard prayer, and return to rest” within Psalm 116 by carrying “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows.” The turn from “I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living” to “I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted” explains why this movement occurs here. Within that relationship, Psalm 116:15 adds the distinct poetic line “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” within “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope.
Follow the Context
- Identify the individual voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 116:10–19; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 116:10–19, the individual voice carries the movement “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows” as part of “Love and thanksgiving after mortal danger.” Its thanksgiving 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: The Greek tradition divides this Hebrew psalm; testimony to deliverance does not guarantee that every faithful sufferer avoids death.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 116:15 does not allow “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his…” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse adds the distinct poetic line “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” within “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. The complete movement is “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The Greek tradition divides this Hebrew psalm; testimony to deliverance does not guarantee that every faithful sufferer avoids death.
What Remains True
Because this verse serves “Love and thanksgiving after mortal danger: Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows,” its enduring claim is proportionate: Biblical faith can speak unresolved pain directly, remain in relationship, seek safe help, and refuse the claim that anguish proves guilt or failed faith. Psalm 116:15 adds the distinct poetic line “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” within “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. The local movement is “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The Greek tradition divides this Hebrew psalm; testimony to deliverance does not guarantee that every faithful sufferer avoids death.
How It Can Shape Life
- Psalm 116:15 contributes to “Love and thanksgiving after mortal danger: Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows” in a specific way: Psalm 116:15 adds the distinct poetic line “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” within “Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. Respond by doing this: Hear the pain carried by “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his…” before offering explanations; stay present and help locate appropriate relational, medical, mental-health, or crisis support.
Teach It Back
Build a short teaching of Psalm 116:15: quote “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his…,” summarize “Love and thanksgiving after mortal danger: Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vows,” show the line's role, cite the checked context, preserve one alternative, derive a safe practice, and make this negation explicit: This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The Greek tradition divides this Hebrew psalm; testimony to deliverance does not guarantee that every faithful sufferer avoids death.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Psalms 116:10–19 — Love and thanksgiving after mortal danger: Faith amid affliction and thanksgiving vowsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The Greek tradition divides this Hebrew psalm; testimony to deliverance does not guarantee that every faithful sufferer avoids death.
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 116:10–19, 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 116:10–19
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 116:10–19.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 116 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 116:10–19
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 116:10–19
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 116 for Psalms 116:10–19
Open NETS Psalms ↗