📖 Biblical Definition
"Cast your burden" names the deliberate, active transfer of weight from one’s own shoulders to YHWH’s. The command is sharp and assertive: "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Psalm 55:22). Peter picks up the same verb in 1 Peter 5:7: "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." The Greek participle epirhipsantes ("having cast") is an aorist of decisive action — not a slow surrender but a deliberate handoff. The Christian man does not pretend to be carrying nothing; he hands over what God has invited him to hand over and trusts the LORD with what he can no longer hold. Cast it. The arms beneath are everlasting.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Active transfer of weight from self to YHWH.
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The deliberate, active transfer of weight from one's own shoulders to the LORD's. Psalm 55:22's shalak yehab — "throw your burden" — is sharper than "hand it over"; it is a hurling. Peter picks up the same verb in Greek epirrhiptō (literally "to throw upon"): "casting all your care upon him." Worry retains the burden; faith hurls it.
📖 Key Scripture
Psalm 55:22 — "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
1 Peter 5:7 — "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
Matthew 11:28-30 — "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern "give it to God" sometimes means just praying about it without actually releasing it; the biblical verb is more decisive.
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"Give it to God" can become a phrase that doesn't actually transfer weight. Hebrew shalak and Greek epirrhiptō are sharper — throw it, hurl it, deliberately set it down on Him. The act is decisive.
Recover the verb: the burden is not light because we have grown strong; the burden is light because we have hurled it onto the One who sustains.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew shalak; Greek epirrhiptō.
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['Hebrew', 'H7993', 'shalak', 'to throw, cast']
['Hebrew', 'H3053', 'yehab', 'burden']
['Greek', 'G1977', 'epirrhiptō', 'to throw upon, cast upon']
Usage
"Cast thy burden upon the LORD."
"Cast it; do not just talk about it."
"Faith hurls; worry retains."