Psalms 143:6-12

6 I held forth mine hands to thee; my soul (was) as earth without water to thee. (I held out my hands to thee; my soul was like dry ground without water, thirsting for thee.)

7 Lord, hear thou me swiftly; my spirit failed. Turn thou not away thy face from me; and I shall be like them that go down into the pit. (Lord, swiftly answer thou me; for my spirit faileth/for my spirit fainteth. Turn thou not away thy face from me; or I shall be like those who go down into the pit.)

8 Make thou early thy mercy heard to me; for I hoped in thee. Make thou known to me the way in which I shall go; for I raised my soul to thee. (Let me know thy love in the morning; for I put my trust in thee. Let me know which way I should go; for I raise up my soul to thee.)

9 Deliver thou me from mine enemies; Lord, I fled to thee; (Save thou me from my enemies; Lord, I fled to thee/Lord, I flee to thee;)

10 teach thou me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me forth into a rightful land; (teach thou me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me forth on the right path;)

11 Lord, for thy name thou shalt quicken me in thine equity. Thou shalt lead my soul out of tribulation; (Lord, for the sake of thy name, save me/let me live. And because of thy fairness, lead thou my soul out of trouble, or tribulation;)

12 and in thy mercy thou shalt scatter mine enemies. And thou shalt lose all them, that trouble my soul; for I am thy servant. (and in thy love for me, waste thou my enemies. Yea, destroy thou all those who trouble me; for I am thy servant.)

Psalms 143:6-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 143

\\<>\\. This psalm was composed by David when he fled from Absalom his son, according to the title of it in Apollinarius, the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions; so R. Obadiah Gaon: and of the same opinion is Theodoret and others. The sense he had of his sins, and his deprecating God's entering into judgment with him for them, seems to confirm it; affliction from his own family for them being threatened him, 2Sa 12:9-11; though Kimchi thinks it was written on the same account as the former, and at the same time, namely, when he was persecuted by Saul; and what is said in Ps 142:2,4, seems to agree with it. The Syriac inscription is, ``when the Edomites came against him;'' which is very foreign, since these were subdued by him.