Psalm 105:18

Modern

They bruised his feet with shackles and placed his neck in irons,

Traditional

Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

Literal

They afflicted his feet with the fetters; into iron came his neck,

Latin

Humiliaverunt in compedibus pedes ejus; ferrum pertransiit animam ejus:

Hebrew

English

They bruised his feet with shackles and placed his neck in irons,

These verses tell the story of Joseph (see Genesis 37–41).

This hymn praises the Lord’s faithfulness to Abraham and his descendants in all their journeys:
- from Ur to Canaan (Psalm 105:12),
- to Egypt (Psalm 105:17, 23),
- through the wilderness (Psalm 105:37, 41), and
- back to Canaan (Psalm 105:44).
These events fulfilled the Lord's promise to Abraham (Psalm 105:9, 42), which was the basis for Israel’s very existence. Joseph, whose suffering turned into glory, serves as a model of encouragement for Israel (Psalm 105:16–25).
Psalm 105:1–15 (along with 96; 106:1, 47–48) is included in David’s song of praise recorded in 1 Chronicles 16.

Theme notes and profiles

Genesis 39:20
So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,
Genesis 40:15
For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”
Acts 16:24
On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Psalm 107:10
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,