What Does Psalm 103:2 Mean?
Two renderings of the same sentence, the verses it belongs to, and what the passage is doing — so you can decide what it means rather than take someone's word for it.
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:" Psalm 103:2, King James Version
The same verse in modern English
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—" Psalm 103:2, Berean Standard Bible
What it sits inside
A verse quoted on its own is the commonest way one gets misread. Here it is with what comes immediately before and after, in the King James Version.
Psalm 103:1 A Psalm of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psalm 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psalm 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psalm 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
A conversation built on it
One thing goes wrong and the hundred that went right go quiet. David knew that pull — he wrote this as an instruction to his own soul, which is not something you do unless you have forgotten before. The good was always there.
Questions people ask
What does Psalm 103:2 mean?
In modern English (Berean Standard Bible) it reads: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—” The King James rendering most people know is: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:”
What is the context of Psalm 103:2?
The verses immediately around it read: (Psalm 103:1) A Psalm of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. (Psalm 103:2) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: (Psalm 103:3) Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; (Psalm 103:4) Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
How is Psalm 103:2 used in a conversation about this?
One thing goes wrong and the hundred that went right go quiet. David knew that pull — he wrote this as an instruction to his own soul, which is not something you do unless you have forgotten before. The good was always there.
Reading it is one thing. Saying what it stirs up is another.
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