Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Psalms 55:7 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 7. 7Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 55:7: The line “Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the…” reaches Selah inside “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God: Anguish and the wish to escape,” marking an ancient pause of uncertain performance.
The body panics before any plot is named
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 55:1–8. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 55:1–8
- Psalms 55:1–23
Read Psalms 55:7 with 55:1–8 and 55:1–23. Read alone, “Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.…” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 55:1–8, the individual voice carries the movement “Anguish and the wish to escape” as part of “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God.” Its lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 55:1–8 opens Psalm 55 with “Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication” and establishes the individual voice and “Anguish and the wish to escape” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 55:7 carries “Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah” into the liturgical marker Selah, creating a pause whose exact performance remains uncertain.
What Remains True
In “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God: Anguish and the wish to escape,” Psalm 55:7 carries “Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah” into the liturgical marker Selah, creating a pause whose exact performance remains uncertain. The resulting truth stays bounded by this movement: Trust can be voiced within danger and delay without becoming a guarantee of immunity or a reason to reject practical care. The local movement is “Anguish and the wish to escape.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The prayer names trauma from a close companion; it does not require unsafe reconciliation, secrecy, or remaining near an abuser.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 55:1–8 — Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God: Anguish and the wish to escapeSources 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 55:1–8, 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 55:1–8
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 55:1–8.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 55 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 55:1–8
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗