This verse isn't just about God helping the less fortunate; it highlights His active, almost visceral engagement with those in the most abject states imaginable. The imagery of "dust" and "dunghill" evokes not just poverty, but a state of being utterly disregarded and debased, from which only God could and would lift them.
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!
English Standard Version (ESV)
This psalm begins by calling all creation to praise God, emphasizing His exalted status above heavens and earth. The focus then shifts to God's amazing condescension, particularly how He looks down on all of creation, not just the grand celestial spheres. This leads directly into a powerful image of God's active mercy towards the marginalized, contrasting His high dwelling with His willingness to lift up those in the lowest possible state.
What does it mean to be 'poor from the dust' or 'needy from the dunghill'? These aren't just metaphors for sadness – they describe a state of utter worthlessness in the ancient world.
The imagery here is incredibly vivid and stark. Think of the 'dust' and 'dunghill' not just as dirt, but as the lowest possible places of society. In ancient towns, these heaps of refuse and waste were often outside the village walls. They were places where the utterly destitute, the outcast, or those afflicted with terrible diseases might end up, begging for scraps from passers-by.
To be raised from such a place means a complete reversal of fortune and status. It's not just a little help; it's a total rescue from a life of shame, misery, and insignificance. God's action here is depicted as a dramatic act of power, pulling someone from the absolute lowest point to a place of honor and value.
Why would an all-powerful God, enthroned in heaven, concern Himself with the forgotten and despised on earth?
The Psalm emphasizes God's incredible humility and condescension. He 'looks down' from His glorious, high dwelling place to notice the most insignificant. This isn't accidental; it's a deliberate choice.
God doesn't wait for people to become valuable or worthy on their own terms. Instead, He makes them valuable by choosing them. He actively intervenes, bringing them out of their lowly state and placing them 'with princes.' This reveals God's heart: He delights in showing His power not by elevating the already great, but by transforming the insignificant into something glorious. It's a testament to His mercy and a stark contrast to human pride.
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Understand the original words
dal · Hebrew Noun
A term often used in wisdom literature and the Psalms to describe those who are economically, socially, or spiritually oppressed. It denotes those who have no resources or power of their own and must rely entirely on God.
aphar · Hebrew Noun
This refers to the lowest state of existence or the place of humiliation and mourning. It symbolizes the depths of human misery and the point from which God initiates His redemptive intervention.
ebyon · Hebrew Noun
Someone who lacks basic necessities or rights, often associated with the marginalized. It carries a sense of being destitute and in constant need of divine provision.
ashpoth · Hebrew Noun
A place of refuse or a site of intense mourning (associated with mourning rites). Being lifted from it represents a dramatic reversal of fortune and divine restoration from utter shame to honor.
nadib · Hebrew Noun
Refers to those in positions of high authority, nobility, or leadership. Biblically, God is portrayed as the ultimate King who elevates the lowly to share in a status they could never achieve on their own.
aqarah · Hebrew Adjective
A woman unable to conceive children. In the Ancient Near East, this was often viewed as a significant social reproach or tragedy, making God's intervention to provide children a profound symbol of His creative power and covenant blessing.
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The sacred, covenantal name of God (YHWH) in the Old Testament. It signifies the self-existent, faithful, and redeeming God who enters into a personal relationship with His people.
This psalm's powerful imagery of God lifting the poor from dust and ashes echoes Hannah's song and powerfully speaks to the devastation of the Babylonian exile, a time when many of God's people were reduced to the lowest possible state. It reminds us that even in such profound ruin, God has the power to restore and exalt.
c. 1100 BC
Hannah's Prayer and Song
Hannah, after years of barrenness, prays fervently for a son and dedicates him to the Lord. Her subsequent prayer, recorded in 1 Samuel 2, includes the powerful lines, 'He raises the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap.' This song is a foundational expression of God's ability to exalt the humble.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, leading to the exile of many Israelites. This event created a significant population of displaced and impoverished people within the land.
597 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Under Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian Empire begins deporting the Jewish elite and skilled laborers from Jerusalem to Babylon. This act plunged many left behind into deeper poverty and desperation.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
The Babylonians utterly destroy Jerusalem and its Temple, initiating the final and most devastating phase of the exile. Survivors were left in utter ruin, often considered as low as dust and ashes.
c. 538 BC
Edict of Cyrus and Return from Exile
After the Persian Empire conquers Babylon, Cyrus the Great issues a decree allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands. This marked a turning point, raising many from their state of ruin.
This passage is directly quoted in Psalms 113:7, highlighting Hannah's prayer which echoes the same theme of God exalting the humble and bringing them out of desperate situations.
Luke 1:52This verse directly references God bringing down the mighty and lifting up the humble, mirroring the action described in Psalms 113:7 in the context of Mary's Magnificat.
Job 2:8Job's lamentable state, sitting on a mound of ashes and scraping himself with pottery, vividly illustrates the 'dust' and 'dunghill' from which God lifts the needy.
Isaiah 47:1This prophecy describes the downfall of Babylon, a powerful nation reduced to sitting in the dust like a commoner, emphasizing the reversal of status that God can bring about.
Amos 8:6This verse describes the wealthy trampling the poor and selling them for mere scraps, underscoring the dire circumstances of the 'poor' and 'needy' who are often exploited and cast aside.
pulpitPsalms 113:7: "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;"
Verse 7. - He raiseth up the poor out of the dust. Heaven is full of his glory, earth of his mercy and loving-kindness. The words of 1 Samuel 2:8 are, consciously or unconsciously, quoted. And lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; rather, from the dunghill (Revised Version).
poolePsalms 113:7: "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;"
He raiseth up the poor; yea, he stoops so low as to regard and advance those whom all men, and even their own brethren, slight and despise. Out of the dust; from a most contemptible and miserable condition. Beggars and mourners used to lie in the dust, or, as it follows, upon the dunghill, 1 Samuel 2:8 Lamentations 4:5 .
This verse isn't just about God helping the less fortunate; it highlights His active, almost visceral engagement with those in the most abject states imaginable. The imagery of "dust" and "dunghill" evokes not just poverty, but a state of being utterly disregarded and debased, from which only God could and would lift them.
This psalm begins by calling all creation to praise God, emphasizing His exalted status above heavens and earth. The focus then shifts to God's amazing condescension, particularly how He looks down on all of creation, not just the grand celestial spheres. This leads directly into a powerful image of God's active mercy towards the marginalized, contrasting His high dwelling with His willingness to lift up those in the lowest possible state.
This psalm begins by calling all creation to praise God, emphasizing His exalted status above heavens and earth. The focus then shifts to God's amazing condescension, particularly how He looks down on all of creation, not just the grand celestial spheres. This leads directly into a powerful image of God's active mercy towards the marginalized, contrasting His high dwelling with His willingness to lift up those in the lowest possible state.
"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.…" — This verse isn't just about God helping the less fortunate; it highlights His active, almost visceral engagement with those in the most abject states imaginable. The imagery of "dust" and "dunghill"…
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Last reviewed October 2026
