Psalm 143
New English Translation
Psalm 143[a]
A psalm of David.
143 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for help.
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me.
2 Do not sit in judgment on[b] your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you.[c]
3 Certainly[d] my enemies[e] chase me.
They smash me into the ground.[f]
They force me to live[g] in dark regions,[h]
like those who have been dead for ages.
4 My strength leaves me;[i]
I am absolutely shocked.[j]
5 I recall the old days.[k]
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments.[l]
6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer;[m]
my soul thirsts for you in a parched[n] land.[o] (Selah)
7 Answer me quickly, Lord.
My strength is fading.[p]
Do not reject me,[q]
or I will join[r] those descending into the grave.[s]
8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning,[t]
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,[u]
because I long for you.[v]
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord.
I run to you for protection.[w]
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,[x]
for you are my God.
May your kind presence[y]
lead me[z] into a level land.[aa]
11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation,[ab] revive me.[ac]
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble.[ad]
12 As a demonstration of your loyal love,[ae] destroy my enemies.
Annihilate[af] all who threaten my life,[ag]
for I am your servant.
Footnotes
- Psalm 143:1 sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
- Psalm 143:2 tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”
- Psalm 143:2 tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”
- Psalm 143:3 tn Or “for.”
- Psalm 143:3 tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).
- Psalm 143:3 tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”
- Psalm 143:3 tn Or “sit.”
- Psalm 143:3 sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).
- Psalm 143:4 tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”
- Psalm 143:4 tn Heb “in my midst my heart is shocked.” For a similar use of the Hitpolel of שָׁמֵם (shamem), see Isa 59:16; 63:5.
- Psalm 143:5 tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”
- Psalm 143:5 tn Heb “the work of your hands.”
- Psalm 143:6 tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.
- Psalm 143:6 tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.
- Psalm 143:6 tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition כ (kaf, “like”) to ב (bet, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
- Psalm 143:7 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
- Psalm 143:7 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
- Psalm 143:7 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
- Psalm 143:7 tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.
- Psalm 143:8 tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14).
- Psalm 143:8 sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).
- Psalm 143:8 tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (naʾas nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).
- Psalm 143:9 tn Heb “to you I cover,” which makes no sense. The translation assumes an emendation to נַסְתִּי (nasti, “I flee,” a Qal perfect, first singular form from נוּס, nos). Confusion of כ (kaf) and נ (nun) is attested elsewhere (see P. K. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 48). The collocation of נוּס (“flee”) with אֶל (ʾel, “to”) is well-attested.
- Psalm 143:10 tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.
- Psalm 143:10 tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).
- Psalm 143:10 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.
- Psalm 143:10 sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.
- Psalm 143:11 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
- Psalm 143:11 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.
- Psalm 143:11 tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.”
- Psalm 143:12 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
- Psalm 143:12 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the mood of the preceding imperfect.
- Psalm 143:12 tn Heb “all the enemies of my life.”
Psalm 143
King James Version
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
9 Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
11 Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
시편 143
Korean Living Bible
고통당하는 영혼의 기도
(다윗의 시)
143 여호와여,
내 기도를 들으시고
나의 간절한 부르짖음에
귀를 기울이소서.
주는 성실하시고
의로운 분이십니다.
나에게 응답하소서.
2 주의 종을 심판대에 세우지 마소서.
주 앞에는 의로운 사람이
하나도 없습니다.
3 내 원수가 나를 핍박하여
내 생명을 땅바닥에 내동댕이치고
캄캄한 곳에 집어 넣었으므로
내가 오래 전에
죽은 사람처럼 되었습니다.
4 그래서 내가 희망을 잃고
깊은 절망 가운데 빠져 있습니다.
5 내가 지나간 날들을 기억하며
주께서 행하신 모든 일을 생각하고
6 주를 향해 손을 들고 기도하며
내 영혼이 마른 땅처럼
주를 사모합니다.
7 여호와여, 속히 나에게 응답하소서.
내 영혼이 피곤합니다.
주의 얼굴을 나에게 숨기지 마소서.
그렇지 않으면
내가 죽게 될 것입니다.
8 매일 아침
주의 사랑의 말씀을 듣게 하소서.
내가 주를 신뢰합니다.
내가 갈 길을 보여 주소서.
내 영혼을 주께 바칩니다.
9 여호와여, 나를
내 원수들에게서 건지소서.
내가 보호를 받으려고
주께로 갑니다.
10 주는 나의 하나님이십니다.
주의 뜻을 행하도록
나를 가르치소서.
주의 성령은 선하신 분입니다.
나를 [a]바른 길로 인도하소서.
11 여호와여, 주의 이름을 위해
나를 구원하소서.
주는 의로운 분이십니다.
나를 환난에서 건지소서.
12 주는 나를 한결같이 사랑하십니다.
나를 괴롭히는
모든 원수들을 제거하소서.
나는 주의 종입니다.
Footnotes
- 143:10 또는 ‘공평한 땅에’
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