The Meaning of Psalms 124:4 Explained

Psalms 124:4

KJV: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:

YLT: Then the waters had overflowed us, The stream passed over our soul,

Darby: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, a torrent had gone over our soul;

ASV: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, The stream had gone over our soul;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then  the waters  had overwhelmed  us, the stream  had gone over  our soul: 

What does Psalms 124:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 124:1-8 - The Christian's Fortress
Here are three instances of escaped peril. In Psalms 124:3 is an allusion to Korah and his company; see Numbers 16:32-33. Why are we spared when others have been overwhelmed by swift disasters? In Psalms 124:4 and Psalms 124:5, as the morning breaks, we see the proud waters that have burst their banks and are inundating the low-lying lands. Why did our house escape? In Psalms 124:6 and Psalms 124:7 we have the metaphor of the ensnared bird and as the fluttering fledgling, when freed, leaps into the sunny air, so do we rejoice when God frees us. But why should we escape when so many never break loose?
Psalms 125:1-5
Jerusalem lies on a broad and high mountain range, shut in by two deep valleys. But the surrounding hills are higher, and made her almost impregnable to the methods of ancient warfare. They who trust in God live within ramparts of His loving care for evermore. The scepter of evil may sometimes cast its gaunt shadow over their lives, but it is always arrested in time. Crooked ways are by-paths. The commandments of God are a public thoroughfare. Keep on the highway and no hurt shall assail you. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 124

1  The church blesses God for a miraculous deliverance

What do the individual words in Psalms 124:4 mean?

Then the waters would have overwhelmed us the stream would have gone over our soul
אֲ֭זַי הַמַּ֣יִם שְׁטָפ֑וּנוּ נַ֗֜חְלָה‪‬ עָבַ֥ר עַל־ נַפְשֵֽׁנוּ

הַמַּ֣יִם  the  waters 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
שְׁטָפ֑וּנוּ  would  have  overwhelmed  us 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural, first person common plural
Root: שָׁטַף  
Sense: to wash, rinse, overflow, engulf, rinse or wash off.
נַ֗֜חְלָה‪‬  the  stream 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: נַחַל 
Sense: torrent, valley, wadi, torrent-valley.
עָבַ֥ר  would  have  gone 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
עַל־  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
נַפְשֵֽׁנוּ  our  soul 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.