Psalm 102:14
New International Version
For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity.

New Living Translation
For your people love every stone in her walls and cherish even the dust in her streets.

English Standard Version
For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.

Berean Standard Bible
For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust.

King James Bible
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.

New King James Version
For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And show favor to her dust.

New American Standard Bible
Surely Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And feel pity for her dust.

NASB 1995
Surely Your servants find pleasure in her stones And feel pity for her dust.

NASB 1977
Surely Thy servants find pleasure in her stones, And feel pity for her dust.

Legacy Standard Bible
For Your slaves find pleasure in its stones And show grace to its dust—

Amplified Bible
For Your servants find [melancholy] pleasure in the stones [of her ruins] And feel pity for her dust.

Christian Standard Bible
For your servants take delight in its stones and favor its dust.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For Your servants take delight in its stones and favor its dust.

American Standard Version
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, And have pity upon her dust.

Contemporary English Version
We, your servants, love each stone in the city, and we are sad to see them lying in the dirt.

English Revised Version
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity upon her dust.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Your servants value Zion's stones, and they pity its rubble.

Good News Translation
Your servants love her, even though she is destroyed; they have pity on her, even though she is in ruins.

International Standard Version
Your servants take pleasure in its stones and delight in its debris.

Majority Standard Bible
For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust.

NET Bible
Indeed, your servants take delight in her stones, and feel compassion for the dust of her ruins.

New Heart English Bible
For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity on her dust.

Webster's Bible Translation
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof.

World English Bible
For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity on her dust.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
For Your servants have been pleased with her stones, "" And they favor her dust.

Young's Literal Translation
For Thy servants have been pleased with her stones, And her dust they favour.

Smith's Literal Translation
For thy servants delighted in her stones, and they will compassionate her dust.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For the stones thereof have pleased thy servants: and they shall have pity on the earth thereof.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For its stones have pleased your servants, and they will take pity on its land.

New American Bible
Its stones are dear to your servants; its dust moves them to pity.

New Revised Standard Version
For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because your Servants delight in her stones and they love her dust!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, And love her dust.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For thy servants have taken pleasure in her stones, and they shall pity her dust.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Prayer of the Afflicted
13You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor—the appointed time has come. 14For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust. 15So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.…

Cross References
Isaiah 62:6-7
On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves, / nor give Him any rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

Nehemiah 1:3-4
And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” / When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Daniel 9:16-19
O Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, I pray that Your anger and wrath may turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all around us. / So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary. / Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion. ...

Isaiah 60:10
Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Although I struck you in anger, yet in favor I will show you mercy.

Zechariah 1:12-17
Then the angel of the LORD said, “How long, O LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry these seventy years?” / So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me. / Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, ...

2 Chronicles 36:19-21
Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value. / Those who escaped the sword were carried by Nebuchadnezzar into exile in Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. / So the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation, until seventy years were completed, in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 33:10-11
This is what the LORD says: In this place you say is a wasteland without man or beast, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted—inhabited by neither man nor beast—there will be heard again / the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those bringing thank offerings into the house of the LORD, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.’ For I will restore the land from captivity as in former times, says the LORD.

Lamentations 5:18
because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate, patrolled by foxes.

Isaiah 64:10-11
Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wasteland and Jerusalem a desolation. / Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire, and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.

Jeremiah 30:18
This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will stand in its rightful place.

Matthew 23:37-39
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! / Look, your house is left to you desolate. / For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it / and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. / For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. ...

Romans 11:1-5
I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. / God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel: / “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”? ...

Hebrews 12:22-24
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels / in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, / to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Revelation 21:2-4
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. / And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. / ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”


Treasury of Scripture

For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof.

Psalm 79:1,7-10
A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps…

Psalm 137:5,6
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning

Ezra 1:5
Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

Jump to Previous
Dear Dust Favor Favour Feel Find Hold Love Moves Pity Pleased Pleasure Servants Stones Surely Thereof
Jump to Next
Dear Dust Favor Favour Feel Find Hold Love Moves Pity Pleased Pleasure Servants Stones Surely Thereof
Psalm 102
1. The prophet in his prayer makes a grievous complaint.
12. He takes comfort in the eternity, and mercy of God
18. The mercies of God are to be recorded
23. He sustains his weakness by the unchangeableness of God.














For Your servants
This phrase refers to those who are devoted followers of God, often seen as the faithful remnant of Israel. The Hebrew word for "servants" is "עֲבָדֶיךָ" (avadekha), which implies a deep sense of duty and loyalty. In the context of the psalm, these servants are those who remain steadfast in their faith despite adversity. Historically, this can be seen as the Israelites who longed for the restoration of Jerusalem during the Babylonian exile, serving as a reminder of the importance of faithfulness and hope in God's promises.

delight in her stones
The word "delight" comes from the Hebrew "רָצוּ" (ratsu), which conveys a sense of deep pleasure and favor. The "stones" symbolize the physical and spiritual foundation of Jerusalem, the city of God. In ancient times, stones were not only the building blocks of cities but also represented strength and permanence. The delight in these stones reflects a longing for the restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem, a city that holds immense spiritual significance as the center of worship and God's presence.

and take pity on her dust
The phrase "take pity" is derived from the Hebrew "יָחֹנּוּ" (yachonnu), which means to show compassion or mercy. "Dust" here symbolizes the desolation and ruin of Jerusalem, often associated with mourning and lamentation. The imagery of dust evokes the idea of something that has been reduced to its most basic form, yet it is not beyond redemption. The servants' compassion for the dust signifies a hope for renewal and a belief in God's power to restore what has been lost. This reflects a broader biblical theme of redemption and the transformative power of God's grace, encouraging believers to trust in God's ability to bring life from desolation.

(14) Stones . . . dust.--This touching description of the devotion of the Jews to their ruined city is best illustrated by the actual history in Nehemiah 3, 4, and by the scenes so often described by travellers at the "wailing place" in modern Jerusalem.

Verse 14. - For thy servants take pleasure in her stones (comp. Isaiah 64:10, 11; Lamentations 4:1; Nehemiah 2:13; Nehemiah 4:2). To this day the same affection is shown by Israelite pilgrims at the "Jews' Wailing Place." And favour (rather, pity) the dust thereof. The rubbish in which the stones lay (Nehemiah 4:2) seems to be intended.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

Your servants
עֲ֭בָדֶיךָ (‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

delight
רָצ֣וּ (rā·ṣū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7521: To be pleased with, to satisfy a, debt

in her
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Direct object marker
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

stones
אֲבָנֶ֑יהָ (’ă·ḇā·ne·hā)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 68: A stone

and
וְֽאֶת־ (wə·’eṯ-)
Conjunctive waw | Direct object marker
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

take pity
יְחֹנֵֽנוּ׃ (yə·ḥō·nê·nū)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2603: To bend, stoop in kindness to an inferior, to favor, bestow, to implore

on her dust.
עֲפָרָ֥הּ (‘ă·p̄ā·rāh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6083: Dust, clay, earth, mud


Links
Psalm 102:14 NIV
Psalm 102:14 NLT
Psalm 102:14 ESV
Psalm 102:14 NASB
Psalm 102:14 KJV

Psalm 102:14 BibleApps.com
Psalm 102:14 Biblia Paralela
Psalm 102:14 Chinese Bible
Psalm 102:14 French Bible
Psalm 102:14 Catholic Bible

OT Poetry: Psalm 102:14 For your servants take pleasure in her (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 102:13
Top of Page
Top of Page