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Psalm 116 · a question people ask

What is "the cup of salvation" (116:13)?

In the text

The psalm doesn't say. It says, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the LORD’s name" (116:13), and next, "I will pay my vows to the LORD, yes, in the presence of all his people" (116:14). In Hebrew salvation here is plural, yeshu'ot (tap salvation). The Psalms have cup five times (tap cup). Two are the psalmist's own cup: "The LORD assigned my portion and my cup" (Psalm 16:5), and "My cup runs over" (Psalm 23:5). Two are cups for the wicked (Psalm 11:6, 75:8). The psalm doesn't say what was in the cup, or whether it was part of the vows and thanksgiving of 116:14 and 116:17, and these notes don't say either. In the WEB the words cup of salvation are only here, and these notes don't link this cup to any other.

The verses

“I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the LORD’s name. I will pay my vows to the LORD, yes, in the presence of all his people.”
Psalm 116:13-14 · World English Bible
“I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on the LORD’s name.”
Psalm 116:17 · World English Bible
“The LORD assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.”
Psalm 16:5 · World English Bible
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.”
Psalm 23:5 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 116

Psalm 116: I love the LORD

In Hebrew, Psalm 116 opens with I love, and the LORD's name comes after listens: the LORD is named as the one who listens. Asked what he will give the LORD, the psalmist first says he will take "the cup of salvation" (116:13). And Paul quotes 116:10's "I believed" in the sentence that speaks of "he who raised the Lord Jesus" (2 Corinthians 4:14).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions