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A Prayer for Deliverance from Pursuers

A maskil of David.

When he was in the cave. A prayer.[a]

142 I cry out with my voice to Yahweh;
I implore favor with my voice to Yahweh.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I declare my trouble before him.
When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way.
On the path where I walk,
they have hidden a trap for me;
look to my right and see.
There is no one looking out for me;
there is no escape for me;[b]
no one cares for my soul.[c]
I cry out to you, O Yahweh.
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
Deliver me from my pursuers,
for they are stronger than I.
Bring me[d] out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will encircle me,
because you will deal bountifully with me.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 142:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  2. Psalm 142:4 Hebrew “a refuge has perished from me”
  3. Psalm 142:4 Or “life”
  4. Psalm 142:7 Hebrew “my soul”

Psalm 142

A Cry of Distress

A Davidic Maskil. When he was in the cave.(A) A prayer.

I cry aloud to the Lord;(B)
I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy.(C)
I pour out my complaint before Him;
I reveal my trouble to Him.(D)
Although my spirit is weak within me,
You know my way.(E)

Along this path I travel
they have hidden a trap for me.(F)
Look to the right and see:[a]
no one stands up for me;
there is no refuge for me;
no one cares about me.(G)

I cry to You, Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my portion in the land of the living.”(H)
Listen to my cry,
for I am very weak.(I)
Rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.(J)
Free me from prison
so that I can praise Your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because You deal generously with me.(K)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 142:4 DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg read I look to the right and I see

Saul Takes Revenge on the Priests Who Helped David

22 David went from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and all his father’s household[a] heard, they came down to him there. Every man in distress and every man who had a creditor and every embittered man gathered to him, and he became their commander.[b] Now there were about four hundred men with him.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 22:1 Or “family”
  2. 1 Samuel 22:2 Literally “over them as commander”

Saul’s Increasing Paranoia

22 So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam.(A) When David’s brothers and his father’s whole family heard, they went down and joined him there. In addition, every man who was desperate, in debt, or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About 400 men were with him.(B)

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