Be Still and Know That I Am God

"Be Still, and Know That I Am God" — Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." — Psalm 46:10 (KJV)

The Hebrew Original

The Hebrew text reads:

הַרְפּוּ וּדְעוּ כִּי־אָנֹכִי אֱלֹהִים

Harpu u-de'u ki-anokhi Elohim.

• Harpu (הַרְפּוּ) — plural imperative of rapha (רָפָה, Strong's H7503). Its root meaning is "to sink, drop, relax, let go, cease, become slack." It's used elsewhere of hands dropping in exhaustion (Nehemiah 6:9), of ceasing from an action (Deuteronomy 9:14). The command is less "be quiet" in a meditative sense and more "stop striving" or "cease, desist."
• U-de'u (וּדְעוּ) — "and know" (imperative plural of yada, H3045).
• Ki-anokhi Elohim — "that I [am] God."

The Context: A Psalm of Upheaval

Psalm 46 is one of three psalms (46, 47, 48) attributed to "the sons of Korah." It is not a psalm of personal meditation — it is a national song of confidence during war and upheaval. The earlier verses frame the setting:

• v. 2 — "Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea"
• v. 3 — "[Though] the waters thereof roar [and] be troubled"
• v. 6 — "The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved"
• v. 9 — "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder"

Verse 10 is God speaking directly, most naturally addressed to the warring nations: "Cease — stop striving — and recognize that I am God."

The Refrain

The psalm contains a refrain that appears twice (v. 7 and v. 11):

"The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of Jacob [is] our refuge. Selah."

Historical Reception

Martin Luther based his 1529 hymn "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God") on this psalm. The refrain "Selah" — a Hebrew word of uncertain meaning, possibly a musical pause — appears three times in the psalm (v. 3, 7, 11), marking its structural divisions.