"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
— Psalm 27:14 (NIV)
Psalm 27:14 is the "wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart" verse. This page gives the verse, where it sits in Psalm 27, and a plain reading. For more on the theme, see Bible verses about waiting, Bible verses about waiting on God, and Bible verses about courage.
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The verse
The King James reads: "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."
"Wait" is qavah (H6960), to wait for or look eagerly for. "Be of good courage" (NIV "be strong") is chazaq (H2388), to be strong or firm. "Strengthen" (NIV "take heart") is 'amats (H553), to be strong or bold, and "heart" is leb (H3820).
Where it sits in Psalm 27
Psalm 27 is headed "Of David." It opens with confidence: "The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?" (see Psalm 27:1). In the middle David names his one request: "that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life" (Psalm 27:4).
The second half turns to pleading. David asks God not to hide his face and says, "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me" (Psalm 27:10). Just before the last line he says, "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13). Verse 14 is how the psalm ends.
What the verse is saying
The verse says "wait for the Lord" twice, and puts courage in between. Waiting here is not passive. It takes strength and a steady heart to keep looking to God when the answer has not come yet.
It is also the line David leaves the reader with. After praying through fear and enemies, he does not close with "it is solved." He closes with a charge to keep waiting, and in the KJV a promise that God "shall strengthen thine heart" while you do.
Questions people ask
What does Psalm 27:14 say?
In the NIV it says, "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." The KJV says, "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."
What does Psalm 27:14 mean?
It is a call to keep looking to God with courage while the answer is still coming. The repetition of "wait for the Lord" is on purpose: you may need to wait again.
Who wrote Psalm 27?
Psalm 27 is headed "Of David."
What is the context of Psalm 27:14?
It is the last verse of Psalm 27. It follows David's prayer for God not to hide his face and his confidence that he will "see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13).
What other verses are like Psalm 27:14?
Isaiah 40:31 (those who hope in the Lord renew their strength), Psalm 62:5 (my soul, find rest in God), and Joshua 1:9 (be strong and courageous) are close companions.
