The Meaning of Psalms 124:7 Explained

Psalms 124:7

KJV: Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

YLT: Our soul as a bird hath escaped from a snare of fowlers, The snare was broken, and we have escaped.

Darby: Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

ASV: Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: The snare is broken, and we are escaped.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Our soul  is escaped  as a bird  out of the snare  of the fowlers:  the snare  is broken,  and we are escaped. 

What does Psalms 124:7 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 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: Psalms 124

1  The church blesses God for a miraculous deliverance

What do the individual words in Psalms 124:7 mean?

Our soul as a bird has escaped from the snare of the fowlers the snare is broken and we have escaped
נַפְשֵׁ֗נוּ כְּצִפּ֥וֹר נִמְלְטָה֮ מִפַּ֪ח י֫וֹקְשִׁ֥ים הַפַּ֥ח נִשְׁבָּ֗ר וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ נִמְלָֽטְנוּ

נַפְשֵׁ֗נוּ  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.
כְּצִפּ֥וֹר  as  a  bird 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, common singular
Root: צִפֹּור  
Sense: bird, fowl.
נִמְלְטָה֮  has  escaped 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
מִפַּ֪ח  from  the  snare 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פַּח 
Sense: bird trap, trap, snare.
י֫וֹקְשִׁ֥ים  of  the  fowlers 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: יָקַשׁ  
Sense: to lure, entice, snare, lay a snare or lure, set a trap.
הַפַּ֥ח  the  snare 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּח 
Sense: bird trap, trap, snare.
נִשְׁבָּ֗ר  is  broken 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ  and  we 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common plural
Root: אֲנַחְנוּ  
Sense: we (first pers.
נִמְלָֽטְנוּ  have  escaped 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common plural
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.