Psalms 143–12
Psalm 143:1-12
Psa.143.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מזמור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שמע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תפלתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1s
- האזינה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אל: NEG
- תחנוני: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- באמנתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2ms
- ענני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בצדקתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons+2ms
Parallels
- Psalm 17:1 (verbal): Begins with a plea to God to 'hear' a just cause and 'attend' to the petitioner—close verbal and legal imagery parallel to 'hear my prayer' and appeal to God's righteousness.
- Psalm 86:1 (verbal): 'Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me' mirrors the direct appeal for God to listen and respond, emphasizing dependence and urgent supplication.
- Psalm 4:1 (verbal): 'Answer me when I call' and the request for God’s favor/faithfulness echoes the opening petition of Ps 143:1 for God to hear and act in faithfulness.
- Psalm 5:1–2 (verbal): 'Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my sighing' closely parallels the initial imperative to God to listen to prayer and plea, sharing vocabulary of ear/attention.
- Psalm 138:3 (thematic): Speaks of God answering in the day of calling and demonstrating faithfulness—connects to Ps 143:1’s appeal to God's faithfulness and righteousness as grounds for answering.
Alternative generated candidates
- A psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer; give ear to my supplication. In your faithfulness answer me; in your righteousness be my judge.
- A psalm of David. LORD, hear my prayer; give ear to my plea. In your faithfulness answer me; in your righteousness respond to me.
Psa.143.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תבוא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- במשפט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- יצדק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- כל: DET
- חי: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 130:3 (thematic): Both express the idea that if God kept account of sins or brought people into judgment, no living person could stand or be declared righteous before him.
- Job 25:4 (verbal): Job's rhetorical question—'How then can man be righteous before God?' closely parallels the Psalm's claim that no living person is righteous in God's sight.
- Psalm 14:3 (verbal): Declares that 'there is none who does good, not even one,' echoing the Psalm's assertion of universal human unrighteousness before God.
- Isaiah 64:6 (thematic): Speaks of human righteousness as inadequate ('filthy rags'), reinforcing the theme that people cannot be declared righteous before God on their own merit.
- Romans 3:10-12 (verbal): Paul echoes the Old Testament verdict that 'none is righteous... no, not one,' applying the same theological claim about universal human sinfulness and inability to justify oneself before God.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no living one is righteous before you.
- Do not enter into judgment with your servant; for no living one is righteous before you.
Psa.143.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- רדף: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- אויב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- דכא: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- לארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חיתי: NOUN,m,sg,poss-1cs
- הושיבני: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg,pr-1cs
- במחשכים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כמתי: PREP+ADJ,m,pl,abs
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Lamentations 3:6 (verbal): Uses almost identical language—God/affliction has set the speaker in dark places “like the dead of long ago,” echoing the image of dwelling in darkness like the dead.
- Psalm 88:3-6 (thematic): Speaker describes deep distress, life drawing near to Sheol and being counted among the dead; parallels the themes of persecution, crushing, and dwelling in darkness.
- Psalm 31:12 (verbal): The psalmist says, “I am forgotten like a dead man,” a similar verbal motif of being treated/imagined as one of the dead and cast down.
- 2 Samuel 22:6 (thematic): Speaks of Sheol’s cords and death’s snares enclosing the sufferer—comparable imagery of being pressed down toward the earth and overwhelmed by enemies.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
- For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground and made me sit in darkness—like those long dead.
Psa.143.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותתעטף: VERB,hitpael,imperfect,3,f,sg
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- רוחי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- בתוכי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- ישתומם: VERB,hithpael,impf,3,m,sg
- לבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 22:14 (verbal): Both portray an inner collapse: 'my heart is like wax; it melts within me' parallels 'my spirit grows faint... my heart is dismayed' (similar bodily/psychic language for extreme distress).
- Psalm 42:11 (thematic): Both address the inner self (soul/spirit) in despondency—'Why are you cast down, O my soul?' resonates with the psalmist's lament over a faint/spirit and a dismayed heart.
- Psalm 6:3 (thematic): An anguished plea—'my soul is in great anguish'—echoes the theme of inner suffering and fatigue found in Ps 143:4.
- Lamentations 3:20 (thematic): 'My soul is bereaved of peace' expresses the same inward desolation and loss of composure that Ps 143:4 describes.
- Job 10:1 (thematic): Job's 'My soul is weary of my life' shows the same exhaustion of spirit and readiness to pour out complaint, paralleling the psalmist's fainting spirit and dismayed heart.
Alternative generated candidates
- My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed within me.
- My spirit is overwhelmed within me; my heart is appalled within me.
Psa.143.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זכרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,na,sg
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מקדם: PREP
- הגיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פעלך: NOUN,m,sg,suff
- במעשה: PREP
- ידיך: NOUN,f,pl,cs,2ms
- אשוחח: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 77:11-12 (verbal): Almost identical wording and thought: remembering former deeds and meditating on all God’s works (‘I will remember… I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your doings’).
- Psalm 145:5 (verbal): Explicitly expresses meditation on God’s wondrous works (‘On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate’), echoing the psalmist’s focus on God’s deeds.
- Isaiah 46:9 (thematic): Calls to ‘remember the former things’ (the deeds and acts of God) as a basis for trust and acknowledgment of God’s identity—paralleling the psalmist’s recollection of past works.
- Psalm 111:2 (thematic): Declares the greatness of the LORD’s works and that they are contemplated by the faithful (‘Great are the works of the LORD; studied by all who delight in them’), resonating with meditation on God’s handiwork.
Alternative generated candidates
- I remember the days of old; I meditate on all your deeds; I muse on the work of your hands.
- I remember the days of old; I ponder all your deeds; I muse on the work of your hands.
Psa.143.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פרשתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- כארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עיפה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Ps.63:1 (verbal): Nearly identical imagery: “O God, you are my God... my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land” — the psalmist’s longing likened to a parched land echoes Ps.143:6’s ‘my soul ... like a weary land.’
- Ps.42:1-2 (thematic): Both passages use thirst/longing imagery for God: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you... My soul thirsts for God,” expressing intense spiritual longing similar to Ps.143:6.
- Ps.119:48 (verbal): The motif of uplifted hands toward God appears here: “I will lift up my hands toward your commandments,” paralleling Ps.143:6’s gesture ‘I spread out my hands to you’ as an act of prayer/appeal.
- Ps.28:2 (structural): A comparable prayer posture and plea: “Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to you... when I lift up my hands toward your holy sanctuary,” linking the physical act of outstretched hands with earnest petition as in Ps.143:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah.
- I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
Psa.143.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מהר: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- ענני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כלתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- רוחי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- אל: NEG
- תסתר: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- פניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
- ונמשלתי: CONJ+VERB,niphal,perf,1,_,sg
- עם: PREP
- ירדי: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,pl
- בור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ps.88:14 (verbal): Directly echoes the complaint 'Why do you hide your face?'—both plead with God not to conceal himself in the psalmist's distress.
- Ps.69:17 (verbal): A near-verbatim plea: 'Do not hide your face from your servant... make haste to answer me,' matching the urgency and request that God not hide his face.
- Ps.102:2 (verbal): 'Do not hide your face from me in the day when I am in distress' closely parallels the petition and the context of suffering in Ps.143:7.
- Ps.22:11 (thematic): 'Do not be far from me, for trouble is near' shares the theme of invoking God's presence and help when the psalmist's spirit is failing.
- Ps.88:3–6 (thematic): These verses portray descent toward Sheol/the pit and overwhelming darkness, paralleling the fear in Ps.143:7 of becoming 'like those who go down to the pit' if God hides his face.
Alternative generated candidates
- Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
- Make haste, answer me, LORD, for my spirit fails; do not hide your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
Psa.143.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- השמיעני: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- בבקר: PREP
- חסדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- כי: CONJ
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- בטחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- הודיעני: VERB,hiph,impv,2,m,sg
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זו: PRON,dem,f,sg
- אלך: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- נשאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 25:4-5 (verbal): Both passages ask God to make known his way and to teach/lead the petitioner in the path to go; closely similar language and petition for guidance.
- Psalm 5:3 (verbal): A morning appeal to God—"In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice"—parallels the psalmist's plea to be heard in the morning.
- Psalm 25:1 (verbal): Shares the identical act of addressing God and lifting up the soul to him ("To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul"), echoing the Psalm 143 petition.
- Isaiah 30:21 (allusion): God's guidance pictured as a voice saying, 'This is the way; walk in it,' which parallels the request 'Make me know the way I should go.'
- Proverbs 3:5-6 (thematic): Both texts link trusting the LORD with his directing one's path—trust in God followed by a reliance on him to make the way straight/known.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I trust. Teach me the way I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
- Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I trust. Make known to me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Psa.143.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הצילני: VERB,hif,impv,2,m,sg
- מאיבי: NOUN,m,pl,abs,1s
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- כסתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
Parallels
- Psa.31:1 (verbal): A direct plea for rescue with the same refuge-language—’In you, O LORD, do I take refuge’ parallels ‘I hide myself in you’ and asks God to deliver.
- Psa.7:1 (verbal): A comparable appeal: ‘O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge: save me from all who persecute me,’ mirroring the request for deliverance from enemies.
- Psa.57:1 (thematic): Uses the image of seeking shelter in God (‘under the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge’), thematically parallel to hiding in the LORD for protection.
- Psa.91:2 (thematic): Affirms God as refuge and trust (‘My refuge and my fortress’), expressing the same trust/hiding motif found in Ps 143:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD; to you I have fled for refuge.
- Deliver me from my enemy, LORD; to you I have fled for refuge.
Psa.143.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למדני: VERB,piel,impv,2,m,sg
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- רצונך: NOUN,m,sg,suff,2,m
- כי: CONJ
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- אלוהי: NOUN,m,sg,suff1cs
- רוחך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- טובה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- תנחני: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg,obj-1cs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- מישור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 119:35 (verbal): Both petitions ask for divine guidance to follow God's will/commands—’lead me in the path of your commandments’ parallels ‘teach me to do your will.’
- Psalm 23:3 (thematic): Shared imagery of God as guide who directs the believer on right, steady paths (‘he leads me in paths of righteousness’ vs. ‘your good Spirit will lead me on level ground’).
- Isaiah 48:17 (verbal): Explicitly links God’s role as teacher and guide: ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you…and leads you by the way you should go,’ echoing ‘teach me to do your will’ and ‘lead me.’
- John 16:13 (thematic): New Testament promise that the Spirit guides into truth—parallels the psalmist’s appeal for God’s ‘good Spirit’ to lead him into the right way to do God’s will.
- Proverbs 3:6 (verbal): Both verses pray for God to make the believer's way straight or level (‘he will make straight your paths’ corresponds to being led ‘in a level land’), tying guidance to obedience.
Alternative generated candidates
- Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
- Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Psa.143.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למען: PREP
- שמך: NOUN,m,sg,cs,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- תחיני: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בצדקתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons+2ms
- תוציא: VERB,hiph,impf,2,m,sg
- מצרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 25:11 (verbal): Uses the same petition formula 'for thy name's sake' (למען שמך) as a ground for pardon or deliverance—parallel motive for appeal to God’s character.
- Psalm 71:2 (verbal): Directly parallels the plea for rescue 'Deliver me in thy righteousness'—same language of seeking deliverance grounded in God's righteousness.
- Psalm 79:9 (thematic): Petition for help 'for the glory of thy name' and for deliverance 'for thy name's sake'—same theological rationale linking God’s honor and human salvation.
- Psalm 34:6 (thematic): Describes God hearing the needy and saving them 'out of all their troubles'—the petition in Ps 143:11 for deliverance from distress echoes this theme.
- Isaiah 48:11 (allusion): Speaks of God acting 'for my own sake' and to vindicate his name—an explanatory background to the Psalms' use of 'for thy name's sake' as motivation for God’s saving action.
Alternative generated candidates
- For your name’s sake, O LORD, revive me in your righteousness; bring my soul out of trouble.
- For your name's sake, LORD, revive me in your righteousness; bring my soul out of trouble.
Psa.143.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובחסדך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss,2,ms
- תצמית: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- איבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss=1s
- והאבדת: VERB,hiphil,perf,2,m,sg
- כל: DET
- צררי: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- כי: CONJ
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
Parallels
- Ps.109:29 (verbal): Uses near-identical language about enemies/adversaries of the psalmist's soul and asks for their destruction ('adversaries of my soul' / 'צררי נפשי'), echoing the petition to cut off foes.
- Ps.18:40-41 (thematic): Describes Yahweh enabling the psalmist to overcome and subdue enemies—parallel theme of God causing foes to fall or be destroyed on behalf of the righteous.
- Ps.44:5 (thematic): Affirms the conviction that victory over enemies comes through God ('Through thee will we push down our enemies'), resonating with the appeal that God, in his steadfast love, silence/destroy adversaries.
- Ps.116:16 (verbal): Contains the explicit self-identification 'I am thy servant,' the same motivating claim found in Ps 143:12 that grounds the plea for God's protective action.
Alternative generated candidates
- In your steadfast love cut off my enemies, and destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.
- In your steadfast love cut off my enemies and destroy all my adversaries, for I am your servant.
A psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer; give ear to my plea. In your faithfulness answer me; in your righteousness deliver me.
Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no living person is righteous before you.
For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has set me in darkness like one long dead.
My spirit within me is overwhelmed; my heart is appalled.
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all your deeds; I muse on the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
Hasten, answer me, O LORD! My spirit fails; do not hide your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the grave.
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for I put my trust in you. Make known to me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD; to you I have taken refuge.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
For the sake of your name, O LORD, revive me in your righteousness; bring my soul out of trouble.
In your steadfast love cut off my enemies and destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.