selah
5 synonyms and 0 antonyms for selah, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Interjection — A word appearing at the ends of verses in the Hebrew Psalms and in Habakkuk, most often understood as a musical or liturgical direction, perhaps a pause, an instrumental interlude or an instruction to lift up the voice. Its exact sense is not known.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. interjection biblical
A word appearing at the ends of verses in the Hebrew Psalms and in Habakkuk, most often understood as a musical or liturgical direction, perhaps a pause, an instrumental interlude or an instruction to lift up the voice. Its exact sense is not known.
“The psalm closes with the line 'be still, and know that I am God. Selah.'”
2. interjection informal
Used in modern speech and writing to mark a statement as final and worth sitting with, roughly 'let that sink in' or 'amen to that'.
“Sometimes rest is the whole job. Selah.”
How to Use Selah
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Biblical and devotional; the modern 'let that sink in' use is informal and common in sermons, gospel music and social media captions.
Etymology
From Hebrew סֶלָה (selah), a term appearing in the Psalms and in Habakkuk. Its precise meaning is unknown; it may be connected to a root meaning 'to lift up' or 'to raise'.
Full origin of selah →Frequently Asked Questions
What does selah mean in the Bible?
Nobody knows for certain. It appears seventy-one times in the Psalms and three times in Habakkuk, always in poetry set to music, so most scholars read it as a performance direction: a pause, a rest, a musical interlude or a swell in volume. Ancient translators already disagreed, and the Greek Septuagint rendered it diapsalma, roughly 'a musical interlude'.
How should you pronounce selah?
Most English speakers say SEE-lah; SAY-lah is also heard, and Hebrew speakers stress the second syllable, se-LAH. All are accepted.
What is the difference between selah and amen?
Amen means 'so be it' and is a definite affirmation of what has been said. Selah is not an affirmation at all; it marks a break or emphasis in a psalm and its meaning is uncertain, which is why modern speakers use it more loosely to mean 'stop and consider that'.