Psalms 143

← Previous ChapterPsalms 143Next Chapter →

Reading Psalms · Listen to the poem

Start anywhere in Psalms. Bring these reading tools with you.

Identify the kind of speech

Ask whether this psalm praises, laments, gives thanks, teaches, or celebrates kingship. These forms can overlap. Notice who speaks and whom the poem addresses before assigning every line to the same voice.

Read across the lines

Compare neighboring lines: does the second echo, contrast with, or develop the first? Repeated words and changing images can reveal movement within a short poem. Superscriptions are part of the received text, but do not by themselves securely date composition.

Try it in Psalm 23

Track the movement from pasture and paths to a table, cup, and dwelling. What changes when the speaker moves from describing the shepherd to directly addressing him? Keep poetic imagery distinct from an itinerary.

Keep the collection in view

Read the preceding and following psalms as a separate comparison. Their placement can invite connections without proving that they were composed together. Numbering can differ between Hebrew and Greek traditions.

Explore the scholarship: Yale · historical and literary discussion ↗

Return to the Chapter Compass ↑

1 A Psalm of David. 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.

World Behind This Chapter

Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Psalms 143.

QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING

What stands out about a penitential-style plea for mercy in Psalm 143?

Psalm 143 builds its movement around a penitential-style plea for mercy, enemy pressure, remembered days, guidance, and divine faithfulness. Tracking repeated words, parallel lines, changes of speaker, and image clusters shows how the poem develops before assigning a later interpretation.

What world does Psalm 143 ask the reader to picture?

The poem evokes enemy-threatened landscape and remembered past. Those settings may be literal, remembered, ritual, or metaphorical; distinguishing those possibilities is part of reading Hebrew poetry carefully.

Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 2
Language & Literature2
  • Psalm 143 in Hebrew and EnglishMechon Mamre

    Presents the Hebrew text beside an English translation. Useful for tracing the psalm’s repeated language of hearing, faithfulness, judgment, persecution, darkness, memory, thirst, morning, pathways, refuge, teaching, spirit, level ground, and deliverance.

  • Psalm 143: NET Bible Translation NotesNET Bible

    Translation notes clarify the request not to enter into judgment, the statement that no living person can be declared righteous, the comparison with those long dead, meditation on former days, the parched-land metaphor, and the request for a good spirit to lead on level ground.

Comments

Public Discussion

Public discussion

Your display name and comment can be seen by anyone visiting this chapter. Do not include private or sensitive information. Read the Community Guidelines.

Did we lose you somewhere?

Tell us what’s confusing, what’s broken, or what you’re enjoying.

Feedback is private and sent to The Bible Directory team. We include this page’s address to help investigate. Please don’t include passwords, payment details, or private study notes.

Privacy policy