The Meaning of Psalms 102:20 Explained

Psalms 102:20

KJV: To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;

YLT: To hear the groan of the prisoner, To loose sons of death,

Darby: To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those that are appointed to die;

ASV: To hear the sighing of the prisoner; To loose those that are appointed to death;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

To hear  the groaning  of the prisoner;  to loose  those that are appointed  to death; 

What does Psalms 102:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 102:12-28 - The Time To Have Mercy Upon Zion
We must remember that the Holy Spirit appropriates the closing words of this psalm as addressed to our Lord. See Hebrews 1:10-12. This gives new point to these petitions. The psalmist's sorrows, described in the previous paragraph, had their source in the desolations of Zion rather than in personal afflictions; and when the soul feels such oppression, it is a sign that deliverance is near. Finney, the great evangelist, tells of a woman who came to her pastor under such concern for the perishing that she could neither eat nor sleep. She entreated him to appoint an inquirers' meeting, and though there had been no signs of a revival, it suddenly broke out. When Christians take pity on the stones and dust of the Church, the time has come for God to arise to her help.
Behold the unchanging Christ! Creation may wax old, the heavens and earth may be laid aside as an outworn garment, the old order may give place to new; but beneath all the changed Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. How delightful are those immortal words, But thou, O Lord, shalt endure, and if He endures, His servants shall continue also, and their children after them. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 102

1  The prophet in his prayer makes a grievous complaint
12  He takes comfort in the eternity, and mercy of God
18  The mercies of God are to be recorded
23  He sustains his weakness by the unchangeableness of God

What do the individual words in Psalms 102:20 mean?

To hear the groaning of the prisoner to release those appointed to death
לִ֭שְׁמֹעַ אֶנְקַ֣ת אָסִ֑יר לְ֝פַתֵּ֗חַ בְּנֵ֣י תְמוּתָֽה

לִ֭שְׁמֹעַ  To  hear 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
אֶנְקַ֣ת  the  groaning 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֲנָקָה  
Sense: crying, groaning, lamentation.
אָסִ֑יר  of  the  prisoner 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָסִיר  
Sense: prisoner, captive, bondman.
לְ֝פַתֵּ֗חַ  to  release 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: פָּתַח 
Sense: to open.
בְּנֵ֣י  those  appointed 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
תְמוּתָֽה  to  death 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תְּמוּתָה  
Sense: death.