Psalms 62:11
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
God has spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongs to God.
American King James Version (AKJV)
God has spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongs to God.
American Standard Version (ASV)
God hath spoken once, Twice have I heard this, That power belongeth unto God.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Once has God said, twice has it come to my ears, that power is God's:
Webster's Revision
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth to God.
World English Bible
God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.
English Revised Version (ERV)
God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God:
Clarke's Psalms 62:11 Bible Commentary
God hath spoken once - God has once addressed his people in giving the law on Mount Sinai. The Chaldee translates the whole passage thus: "God hath spoken one law, and twice have we heard this from the mouth of Moses the great scribe, that strength is before God: and it becomes thee, O God, to show mercy to the righteous; for thou renderest to man according to his works."
Twice have I heard this - Except some of the ancient Versions, almost every version, translation, and commentary has missed the sense and meaning of this verse. I shall set down the text: אחת דבר אלהים שתים זו שמעתי achath dibber Elohim; shetayim zu shamati; of which the true version is this: Once hath God spoken; these two things have I heard. Now what are the two things he had heard?
1. כי וז לאלהים ki oz lelohim, "That strength is the Lord's;" that is, He is the Origin of pourer.
2. ולך אדני חסד ulecha Adonai, chased; "and to thee, Lord, is mercy;" that is, He is the Fountain of mercy.
These, then, are the two grand truths that the law, yea, the whole revelation of God, declares through every page. He is the Almighty; he is the most merciful; and hence the inference: The powerful, just, and holy God, the most merciful and compassionate Lord, will by and by judge the world, and will render to man according to his works. How this beautiful meaning should have been unseen by almost every interpreter, is hard to say: these verses contain one of the most instructive truths in the Bible.
Barnes's Psalms 62:11 Bible Commentary
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this - This repetition, or this declaration that he had heard the thing repeated, is designed to give emphasis to what was said, or to call attention to it as particularly worthy of notice. See the notes at Job 33:14. Compare Job 40:5. The sentiment here is particularly important, or is deserving of special attention, because, as the psalmist had shown, all other resources fail, and confidence is to be placed in nothing else for that which man so much needs; neither in people, whether of low degree or high Psalm 62:9; not in oppressive acts - acts of mere power; not in plunder; not in wealth, however acquired, Psalm 62:10.
That power belongeth unto God - Margin, strength. The idea is, that the strength which man needs - the ability to defend and to save him - is to be found in God. All else may fail, but the power of God will not fail. The result of all, therefore, should be to lead us to put our trust in God alone.
Wesley's Psalms 62:11 Bible Commentary
62:11 Spoken - Frequently, both immediately as at Sinai, and by his holy prophets, from time to time. That - That power is God's prerogative; and consequently all creatures, either against or without him, are poor impotent things.