Psalms 142–7
Psalm 142:1-7
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Psa.142.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- משכיל: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בהיותו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במערה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תפלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 22:1 (allusion): Narrative background: David retreats to the cave of Adullam—this historical episode is the likely setting alluded to by the superscription 'when he was in the cave.'
- 1 Samuel 24:1-2 (allusion): Another episode of David in a cave (En-gedi) while pursued by Saul; provides parallel narrative context for psalms composed 'in the cave.'
- Psalm 57:1 (verbal): Superscription likewise links a Davidic song to time 'when he fled/was in the cave'; close verbal and situational parallel in heading and theme of seeking refuge from enemies.
- Psalm 102:1 (thematic): Both psalms are explicitly labeled as prayers of an afflicted petitioner; they share the lament/prayer genre and appeal for divine help amid distress.
Alternative generated candidates
- A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave: a prayer.
- A maskil of David—when he was in the cave. A prayer.
Psa.142.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קולי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אזעק: VERB,qal,impf,1,-,sg
- קולי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אתחנן: VERB,hitp,impf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Ps.18:6 (verbal): Hebrew wording and imagery closely parallel Psalm 142: both use cries/supplication to YHWH in distress (בצרתי קראתי ה' ואלוהי זעקתי), echoing 'קולי אל־יהוה אזעק'.
- Jonah 2:2 (verbal): Jonah's prayer begins with 'I called out of my distress to the LORD' (קראתי מצוקתי אל־יהוה), mirroring the same verb and theme of crying aloud to YHWH.
- Ps.86:6 (thematic): Both verses present an urgent personal supplication: 'Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my cry,' paralleling the repeated vocal plea to God in Psalm 142:2.
- Ps.102:1 (verbal): The opening petition 'Hear my prayer, O LORD; and let my cry come unto thee' (שמעו תפלתי ה' ותרצנה תפלתי) corresponds closely in language and intent to the appeal in Psalm 142:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- My voice to the LORD I cry; my voice to the LORD I call—I make supplication.
- My voice to the LORD—I cry; my voice to the LORD—I entreat.
Psa.142.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשפך: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- לפניו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- שיחי: NOUN,m,sg,suff
- צרתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+suff:1,sg
- לפניו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- אגיד: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 62:8 (verbal): Commands believers to 'pour out your heart before him'—language and action closely parallel 'אשפך לפניו שיחי' (I pour out my complaint before him).
- Psalm 38:9 (verbal): 'Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee'—similar admission that one’s lament and inner trouble are laid open before God.
- Psalm 55:22 (thematic): 'Cast your burden on the LORD'—shares the theme of bringing distress and cares to God for relief and support.
- 1 Peter 5:7 (thematic): 'Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you'—New Testament parallel urging believers to place their troubles before God.
- Philippians 4:6 (thematic): 'In everything by prayer and supplication... let your requests be made known to God'—parallels the practice of openly presenting one’s troubles to God in prayer.
Alternative generated candidates
- I pour out my complaint before him; I tell before him my distress.
- I pour out my complaint before him; I tell before him my distress.
Psa.142.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בהתעטף: VERB,hitpael,perf,3,f,sg
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- רוחי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- ידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- נתיבתי: NOUN,m,sg,poss1
- בארח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זו: PRON,dem,f,sg
- אהלך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2fs
- טמנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- פח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 7:15 (verbal): Same imagery of adversaries digging or laying a pit for the speaker (’they have digged a pit for me’), a concrete metaphor for entrapment and ambush.
- Psalm 88:8-9 (thematic): Both portray extreme abandonment and enclosure—being cut off, shut up, and left without help—echoing the psalmist’s sense that no one cares for or recognizes him.
- Psalm 31:12 (thematic): Expresses a similar experience of being scorned, forgotten, and lacking human refuge: the psalmist feels abandoned and as if no one cares for his life.
- Job 19:13-14 (thematic): Job’s complaint about being alienated from friends and betrayed by companions parallels the theme of isolation and the absence of anyone to care for or notice the sufferer.
Alternative generated candidates
- When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my path; in the way where I walk they have set a snare for me.
- When my spirit was overwhelmed within me—you know my path; on the way where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.
Psa.142.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הביט: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- ימין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וראה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מכיר: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אבד: VERB,qal,infabs
- מנוס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
- אין: PART,neg
- דורש: VERB,qal,part,0,m,sg
- לנפשי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 22:11 (verbal): Both verses express abandonment and lack of help: 'Do not be far from me... for there is no helper' parallels 'I looked to the right and saw—there was no one who would know me.'
- Job 19:13-14 (thematic): Job laments the loss of friends and family who have turned away—'Those who are my closest friends have forgotten me'—echoing the Psalmist's sense that no one cares for his life.
- Isaiah 49:14 (thematic): Zion's cry 'The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me' mirrors the Psalmist's experience of being left without anyone to turn to or recognize his plight.
- Psalm 31:12 (thematic): The imagery of being forgotten and isolated ('I am forgotten like a dead man; I am like a broken vessel') parallels the Psalmist's declaration that there is no one who regards or cares for his soul.
Alternative generated candidates
- Look to the right and see—there is no one who knows me; no refuge is left to me, no one cares for my life.
- Look to the right and see—there is no one who knows me; escape has fled from me, no one cares for my life.
Psa.142.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זעקתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- מחסי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- חלקי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- החיים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Ps.119:57 (verbal): Explicitly declares 'The LORD is my portion'—the same claim (אדני חלקי/חלקי) as in Ps 142:6, sharing the theme of God as one's allotment and sustainer.
- Ps.16:5 (verbal): Uses the language of 'portion' and God's protective care ('The LORD is my portion and my cup/you hold my lot'), closely paralleling the idea of God as refuge and portion in the land of the living.
- Ps.31:2 (thematic): Petitions God to be a refuge ('Be to me a rock of refuge'), echoing Ps 142:6’s appeal to God as refuge amid distress.
- Ps.27:13 (verbal): Contains the phrase 'in the land of the living' and expresses trust in seeing God's goodness there, paralleling Ps 142:6’s hope in God as portion 'in the land of the living.'
Alternative generated candidates
- I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
- I cried to you, O LORD; I said, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
Psa.142.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הקשיבה: VERB,hiph,impv,2,_,sg
- אל: NEG
- רנתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- דלותי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1,sg
- מאד: ADV
- הצילני: VERB,hif,impv,2,m,sg
- מרדפי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+1cs
- כי: CONJ
- אמצו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 18:6 (verbal): A very similar cry of distress: 'In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried'—both plead for God to hear and deliver from overwhelming foes.
- Psalm 31:9-10 (thematic): Begging God's mercy because of extreme affliction and weakness ('be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in trouble'), echoing the psalmist's plea about being very low and persecuted.
- Psalm 34:6 (thematic): 'This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him' parallels the appeal for God to hear the cry of one who is low and to save from trouble/persecutors.
- Psalm 70:1 (verbal): An urgent petition for speedy deliverance—'Make haste, O God, to deliver me'—matching the Psalm 142 plea for rescue from persecutors.
- Psalm 22:24 (allusion): Assurance that God hears the cry of the afflicted ('when he cried unto him, he heard'), thematically linked to the request that God heed and rescue the lowly petitioner.
Alternative generated candidates
- Give ear to my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my pursuers, for they are too strong for me.
- Give ear to my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my pursuers, for they are stronger than I.
A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer.
I cry aloud to the LORD; I call to the LORD—I plead.
I pour out my complaint before him; I tell him my distress.
When my spirit is faint within me, you know my path; in the way where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.
Look to the right and see: there is no one who knows me; my escape is gone from me—no one cares for my soul.
I cried to you, O LORD; I said, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
Give ear to my cry, for I am brought low; rescue me from my pursuers, for they are too mighty for me.