Psalm 143
New King James Version
An Earnest Appeal for Guidance and Deliverance
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
(A)For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in [a]darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
4 (B)Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.
5 (C)I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I [b]muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to You;
(D)My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
7 Answer me speedily, O Lord;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
(E)Lest I [c]be like those who [d]go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness (F)in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
(G)Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For (H)I lift up my soul to You.
9 Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
[e]In You I take shelter.
10 (I)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
(J)Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in (K)the land of uprightness.
11 (L)Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12 In Your mercy (M)cut[f] off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.
Footnotes
- Psalm 143:3 dark places
- Psalm 143:5 ponder
- Psalm 143:7 become
- Psalm 143:7 Die
- Psalm 143:9 LXX, Vg. To You I flee
- Psalm 143:12 put an end to
Psalm 143
Lexham English Bible
A Prayer for Rescue from Enemies
A psalm of David.[a]
143 O Yahweh, hear my prayer;
listen to my supplications.
In your faithfulness answer me,
and in your righteousness.
2 And do not enter into judgment with your servant,
because no one alive is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground.
He has made me dwell in dark places
like those long dead.
4 And so my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within[b] me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your doings.[c]
I muse on the labor of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul longs for you like a dry land. Selah
7 Quickly answer me, O Yahweh;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I will become
like those descending to the pit.
8 Cause me to hear your loyal love in the morning,
for I trust you.
Cause me to know the way that I should go,
for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh.
I take refuge in you.[d]
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God;
your Spirit is good.
Lead me onto level ground.
11 For your name’s sake, O Yahweh, preserve my life;
in your righteousness bring me[e] out of trouble.
12 And in your loyal love destroy my enemies,
and exterminate all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.
Footnotes
- Psalm 143:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
- Psalm 143:4 Literally “in the midst of”
- Psalm 143:5 Hebrew “doing”
- Psalm 143:9 This reading for the difficult Hebrew “I cover to you” is suggested by the LXX
- Psalm 143:11 Hebrew “my soul”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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