Psalm 31:9

9 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.

Psalm 31:9 in Other Translations

9 Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.

9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also.

9 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away.

9 Be kind to me, God - I'm in deep, deep trouble again. I've cried my eyes out; I feel hollow inside.

9 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress: Mine eye wasteth away with grief, [yea], my soul and my body.

9 Have pity on me, O LORD, because I am in distress. My eyes, my soul, and my body waste away from grief.

9 Be gracious to me, Lord, because I am in distress; my eyes are worn out from angry sorrow- my whole being as well.

9 Lord, show me your favor. I'm in deep trouble. I'm so sad I can hardly see. My whole body grows weak with sadness.

Psalm 31:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 31:9

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble
A sudden change of case and frame this! and so it is with the people of God; as soon as, out of one trouble, they are in another; these are what are appointed for them, and lie in their pathway to heaven, and are necessary; and under them it is quite right to betake themselves to the Lord, who is a merciful God; and it is best to cast themselves upon his mercy, having no merit of their own to plead with him; and they may freely tell him all their distresses, as the psalmist here does, and hope for grace and mercy to help them in time of need;

mine eye, is consumed with grief;
expressed by tears; through the multitude of which, by reason of trouble, his sight was greatly harmed; according to Jarchi, the word signifies, that his sight was so dim as is a man's when he puts a glass before his eyes, to see what is beyond the glass: this shows that the invention of spectacles was before the year 1105; for in that year Jarchi died; and proves it more early than any other writer has pretended to ^F1; for the commonly received opinion is, that they were invented at the latter end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century; but the apostle, as A-Lapide thinks, respects them, in ( 1 Corinthians 13:12 ) ; and they are mentioned by Plautus {b}, who lived almost two hundred years before the birth of Christ: the same Jarchi observes on ( Psalms 6:7 ) ;

[yea], my soul and my belly;
perhaps he could not eat his food, or digest it, which brought upon him internal disorders, and even brought his soul or life into danger.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 See Chambers's Dictionary on the word "Spectacles".
F2 Vid. Ainsworth's Lat. Dict. in voce "Conspicill". & Panciroll. Rer. Memorab. par. 2. tit. 15. & Salmath. in ib. p. 268.

Psalm 31:9 In-Context

7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.

8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

9 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.

10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction,and my bones grow weak.

11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends— those who see me on the street flee from me.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 4:1
• 2. Psalms 6:7
• 3. Psalms 63:1