Psalm 142

Common English Bible

Psalm 142

A maskil^[a] of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer.

142 I cry out loud for help from the Lord.
    I beg out loud for mercy from the Lord.
²I pour out my concerns before God;
    I announce my distress to him.
³When my spirit is weak inside me, you still know my way.
    But they’ve hidden a trap for me in the path I’m taking.
⁴Look right beside me: See?
    No one pays attention to me.
There’s no escape for me.
    No one cares about my life.

⁵I cry to you, Lord, for help.
    “You are my refuge,” I say.
    “You are all I have in the land of the living.”
⁶Pay close attention to my shouting,
    because I’ve been brought down so low!
Deliver me from my oppressors
    because they’re stronger than me.
⁷Get me out of this prison
    so I can give thanks to your name.
Then the righteous will gather all around me
    because of your good deeds to me.

Footnotes

Psalm 142:1 Perhaps instruction

1 Samuel 22:1-2

Common English Bible

David gathers support

22 David left Gath and escaped to Adullam’s fortress.^[a] When David’s siblings and all his extended family learned of this, they went to join him there. ²Everyone who was in trouble, in debt, or in desperate circumstances gathered around David, and he became their leader. Approximately four hundred men joined him.

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