Psalm 43
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 43[a]
Prayer To Worship God Anew
1 Grant me your justice, O God,
and plead my cause against a godless nation;
rescue me from those who are deceitful and unjust.
2 You, O God, are my refuge;
why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in mourning,
while my enemy oppresses me?
3 Send forth your light and your truth;[b]
they will serve as my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place of your dwelling.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and delight,
and I will praise you[c] with the harp,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
for I will once again praise him,
my Savior and my God.[d]
Footnotes
- Psalm 43:1 The psalmist asks God for vindication so that he may be able to return to the temple and render him praise once again.
We can pray this psalm to augment our tranquil hope. We place our cause in God, who has sworn that he will obtain redress for us from our enemies (see Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30). He will enable us to journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem in the vast mobile column of his Church, the true liturgical procession and uninterrupted processional march that takes the elect to him (see Heb 10:19-22). - Psalm 43:3 Your light and your truth: the psalmist personifies the divine attributes of light (see note on Ps 27:1) and truth (see Pss 25:5; 26:3; 40:11) and asks that they bring him safely to the temple. Holy mountain: see note on Ps 2:6.
- Psalm 43:4 Altar of God . . . I will praise you: see notes on Pss 7:18; 26:6.
- Psalm 43:5 See note on Ps 42:12.
Psalm 43
The Voice
Psalm 43[a]
1 Plead for me; clear my name, O God. Prove me innocent
before immoral people;
Save me from their lies,
their unjust thoughts and deeds.
2 You are the True God—my shelter, my protector, the one whom I lean on.
Why have You turned away from me? Rejected me?
Why must I go around, overwrought, mourning,
suffering under the weight of my enemies?
3 O my God, shine Your light and truth
to help me see clearly,
To lead me to Your holy mountain,
to Your home.
4 Then I will go to God’s altar with nothing to hide.
I will go to God, my rapture;
I will sing praises to You and play my strings,
unloading my cares, unleashing my joys, to You, God, my God.
5 O my soul, why are you so overwrought?
Why are you so disturbed?
Why can’t I just hope in God? Despite all my emotions, I will hope in God again.
I will believe and praise the One
who saves me and is my life,
My Savior and my God.
Footnotes
- Psalm 43 Psalms 42–43 are a single poem in many Hebrew manuscripts.
Psalm 43
New American Standard Bible
Prayer for Help.
43 (A)Vindicate me, God, and (B)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[a]Save me from (C)the deceitful and unjust person!
2 For You are the (D)God of my strength; why have You (E)rejected me?
Why do I go about (F)mourning [b]because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send out Your (G)light and Your truth, they shall lead me;
They shall bring me to Your (H)holy hill
And to Your (I)dwelling places.
4 Then I will go to (J)the altar of God,
To God [c]my exceeding (K)joy;
And I will praise You on the (L)lyre, God, my God.
5 (M)Why are you [d]in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will [e]again praise [f]Him
For the [g]help of His presence, my God.
Footnotes
- Psalm 43:1 Or May You
- Psalm 43:2 Or while the enemy oppresses
- Psalm 43:4 Lit the gladness of my joy
- Psalm 43:5 Or dissolved away
- Psalm 43:5 Or still
- Psalm 43:5 As in some ancient mss; MT Him, the help of my face and my God
- Psalm 43:5 Or saving acts of
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
