Psalm 143
Expanded Bible
A Prayer Not to Be Killed
A psalm of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer;
·listen [L give ear] to my ·cry for mercy [prayer of supplication].
Answer me
because you are ·loyal [faithful] and ·good [righteous].
2 Don’t ·judge me [L bring me into judgment], your servant,
because no one alive is ·right [righteous] before you [Rom. 3:22; Gal. 2:16].
3 My enemies are ·chasing [pursuing; persecuting] me;
they crushed me to the ground.
They made me ·live [sit] in darkness
like those long dead [Lam. 3:6].
4 ·I am afraid [I am depressed; L my spirit is faint; 142:3];
my ·courage is gone [L heart within me is desolated].
5 I remember ·what happened long ago [L the former days];
I ·consider [meditated on] everything you have done.
I ·think [considered] ·about all you have made [L the work of your hands].
6 I ·lift my hands to you in prayer [L spread out my hands to you].
·As a dry land needs rain, I thirst [L My life/soul is like a thirsty/parched land] for you. ·
7 Lord, answer me quickly,
because ·I am getting weak [L my spirit languishes].
Don’t ·turn away [L hide your face] from me,
or I will be like those who ·are dead [L go down to the pit].
8 ·Tell me [Make me hear] in the morning about your ·love [loyalty],
because I ·trust [have confidence in] you.
·Show me what I should do [L Make me know the way I should walk],
because ·my prayers go up [L I lift up my soul] to you.
9 Lord, ·save [protect] me from my enemies;
I hide in you.
10 Teach me to do ·what you want [your will],
because you are my God.
Let your good Spirit [or spirit]
·lead [guide] me on level ground.
11 Lord, let me live
·so people will praise you [L for the sake of your name].
In your ·goodness [righteousness]
·save me [L bring me out] from my ·troubles [distress].
12 In your ·love [loyalty] ·defeat [destroy] my enemies.
·Destroy [L Make perish] all those who ·trouble [distress] me,
because I am your servant.
Psalm 143
Amplified Bible
Prayer for Help and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Listen to my supplications!
Answer me in Your faithfulness, and in Your righteousness.
2
And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no man living is righteous or justified.(A)
3
For the enemy has persecuted me,
He has crushed my life down to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have been long dead.
4
Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed and weak within me [wrapped in darkness];
My heart grows numb within me.
5
I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that You have done;
I ponder the work of Your hands.
6
I reach out my hands to You;
My throat thirsts for You, as a parched land [thirsts for water]. Selah.
7
Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like those who go down into the pit (grave).
8
Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For I trust in You.
Teach me the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
9
Rescue me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I take refuge in You.
10
Teach me to do Your will [so that I may please You],
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11
Save my life, O Lord, for Your name’s sake;
In Your righteousness bring my life out of trouble.
12
In your lovingkindness, silence and destroy my enemies
And destroy all those who afflict my life,
For I am Your servant.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
