Favor · the best way to learn the Bible
Psalm 4 Bible study: Answer me when I call
"Answer me when I call" (4:1) and "The LORD will hear when I call to him" (4:3) share one Hebrew word, beqor'i. In the first verse the psalm asks for relief, rachav, being made wide, in distress, tsar, a tight place. And Strong's gives the safety of the last verse (4:8) as "from 982", the verb of "Put your trust in the LORD" (4:5).
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the words behind the words, what most readers miss, and how it all leads to Jesus.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
“In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me live in safety.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Psalm 4 says the gladness the LORD put in the psalmist's heart is more than when their grain and new wine are increased.”
Is that in Psalm 4, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Room, in a tight place
The psalm's title reads, "For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm by David" (4:1). Then the psalm speaks straight to God: "Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer" (4:1) (tap Answer, mercy). Here is what almost everyone misses. In Hebrew distress is tsar, which Strong's gives as "narrow; (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively, i.e. trouble)" (tap distress). And relief is the verb rachav, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "be or grow, wide, large" (tap relief). The line sets a tight place beside being made wide. Isaac used the same verb when he named a well Rehoboth: "For now the LORD has made room for us" (Genesis 26:22).
Where it leads to Jesus
The food which remains
Psalms 4:7leads toJohn 6:27
Psalm 4 says to the LORD, "You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased" (Psalm 4:7). In John 6, after Jesus had given out the loaves (John 6:11), the multitude came to Capernaum, seeking him (John 6:24), and he said to them, "Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you" (John 6:27). Jesus doesn't cite Psalm 4, so setting them together is a reading. It rests on a shared subject, a good from God that is more than a full harvest or a full meal, not on a shared word. Some read the two together: the psalm speaks of a gladness the LORD gives that is more than harvest plenty, and Jesus points past the food which perishes to food he himself will give. Others keep each in its own setting: John 6 goes on to the manna and "the true bread out of heaven" (John 6:32), not to this psalm, and the psalm doesn't call the harvest perishing or say it is wrong to want it. Neither reading makes the many who ask in Psalm 4:6 the multitude of John 6, and the psalm doesn't say whose grain "their grain" is.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 4
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 4 is waiting in Favor
- Then the psalm turns to "You sons of men"
- "Who will show us any good?"
- Words of the priestly blessing
- Grain, new wine, safety, alone
- 5 questions as you read
- 14 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 4 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
רָחַבrachavsay ra-KHAV
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "be or grow, wide, large", and among its uses, "make large". Strong's: "to broaden", with "make room" among the renderings it lists. "Give me relief from my distress" (4:1): relief is this verb, beside distress, which Strong's gives as "a tight place" (tap distress). Isaac named a well Rehoboth and said, "For now the LORD has made room for us" (Genesis 26:22), with this verb. The Psalms have it six times in Hebrew. One is "You have enlarged my steps under me" (Psalm 18:36), and another is "for you have set my heart free" (Psalm 119:32).
For your group
Psalm 4 Bible study questions
- 1"Search your own heart on your bed, and be still" (4:4). What goes through your mind when you lie down at night, and what helps you be still?
- 2"Many say, “Who will show us any good?”" (4:6). Where do you hear that question around you, or in yourself?
- 3"You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased" (4:7). When have you known a gladness that didn't depend on how things were going?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 4 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
Start a Bible studyThe best way to learn the Bible
Favor opens up every chapter as you read.
Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.
Every chapter explains itself
As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.
The Hebrew and Greek behind it
Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.
Every page leads to Jesus
Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.
Better together
Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.
- 1
Start your free week
Sign up in a minute with your email.
- 2
Read a few minutes a day
Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.
- 3
Bring your people, if you like
Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Psalm 4 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 4 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Start with Psalm 4
The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.
There's a seat for you at the table.
Start your free weekFirst week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home