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Psalm 116:10

"I believed, therefore have I spoken" and 2 Corinthians 4:13

Hebrew 116:10 is ambiguous: "I believed, for I will speak" or "I kept faith, even when I said, I am greatly afflicted." The Greek begins a new psalm here (Greek 115) and reads "I believed, therefore I spoke" (Vulgate "Credidi, propter quod locutus sum"). Paul quotes the Greek in 2 Corinthians 4:13.

Same letters, different readings: the consonants agree, but ancient readers vocalized or interpreted them differently

The family tree

Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.

✓ contains it · ✕ does not · ❝ quotes part of it · ⓘ reports on manuscripts · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives

  • Same line, through lost copies
  • Translation
  • Uncertain connection
Hebrew
  1. The psalm as first composedPsalms composed over centuries (c. 10th–4th century BC; debated)
  2. Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The psalm as first composed
Greek
  1. Greek Psalter (library: Giguet's French)Old Greek c. 2nd century BC; French 1872Translated from the Old Greek Psalter
Latin
  1. Jerome's Gallican Psalter (Clementine Vulgate)c. AD 386–392, revised from the GreekTranslated from the Greek Psalter (Origen's Hexapla)
Syriac
    English
    1. King James Bible1611Translated from printed Masoretic Hebrew
    New Testament quotation
    1. Greek New Testament (library: Statistical Restoration text)1st century AD; edition 2010sUncertain relationship to the psalm (which wording it followed is the question)

    Every witness, in order

    1. Psalms composed over centuries (c. 10th–4th century BC; debated)

      The psalm as first composed

      – No copy survives

      No original survives. About forty Psalms manuscripts from Qumran, Masada and Nahal Hever (c. 2nd century BC – 1st century AD) are the oldest copies.

    2. 1st century AD; edition 2010s

      Greek New Testament (library: Statistical Restoration text)

      ✓ Contains this passageUncertain relationship to the psalm (which wording it followed is the question)

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: the Greek New Testament editions in the library (Textus Receptus, Byzantine Textform, Statistical Restoration).

      ¶Ἔχοντες δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πίστεως, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, “Ἐπίστευσα, διὸ ἐλάλησα”, καὶ ἡμεῖς πιστεύομεν, διὸ καὶ λαλοῦμεν,

      Having the same spirit of faith, as it is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak.

      2 Corinthians 4:13. KJV: "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;"

    3. c. AD 386–392, revised from the Greek

      Jerome's Gallican Psalter (Clementine Vulgate)

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Greek Psalter (Origen's Hexapla)

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).

      Alleluja. Credidi, propter quod locutus sum; ego autem humiliatus sum nimis.

      Latin numbering: Psalm 115:1. Jerome revised this Latin Psalter from the Greek, so it is a witness to the Greek, not to the Hebrew. Vulgate 115:1.

    4. AD 1008

      Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)

      ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from The psalm as first composed

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

      הֶ֭אֱמַנְתִּי כִּ֣י אֲדַבֵּ֑ר אֲ֝נִ֗י עָנִ֥יתִי מְאֹֽד׃

      I believed, for (or: even when) I spoke: I am greatly afflicted

      Hebrew numbering: Psalm 116:10.

    5. 1611

      King James Bible

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).

      I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:

    6. Old Greek c. 2nd century BC; French 1872

      Greek Psalter (library: Giguet's French)

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Old Greek Psalter

      How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.

      J’ai cru, c’est pourquoi j’ai parlé; et j’avais été humilié à l’excès.

      Greek numbering: Psalm 115:1. Giguet's 1872 French of a printed Greek text (D check); not checked against Rahlfs' critical edition (C check). Giguet's 115:1, the start of a new psalm.

    What changed, and why

    Ki in Hebrew can mean "for, because, when, even though." The Greek translators chose "therefore" (dio), making faith the cause of speech. Paul uses exactly this sense: "we also believe, and therefore speak."

    The Greek division of Psalm 116 into two psalms (114 and 115) is shown in each witness's numbering. 2 Corinthians is shown from the library's Greek New Testament (D check).

    What the evidence shows

    • Independently documentedThe Greek and Latin read "therefore have I spoken."
    • Independently documented2 Corinthians 4:13 quotes the Greek.

    Sources

      Related lessons

      • Psalm 116: I Will Take the Cup of Salvation →"I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice." "The sorrows of death compassed me… I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the LORD." "Return unto thy rest, O my soul." "I believed, therefore have I spoken." "What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation… I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."