Psalm 142:6 kjv
Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
Psalm 142:6 nkjv
Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I.
Psalm 142:6 niv
Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
Psalm 142:6 esv
Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!
Psalm 142:6 nlt
Hear my cry,
for I am very low.
Rescue me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
Psalm 142 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 34:17 | The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. | God hears and delivers the distressed. |
| Ps 18:6 | In my distress I called upon the LORD... He heard my voice out of his temple. | God hears prayers in distress. |
| Ps 55:1-2 | Give ear to my prayer, O God... I am restless in my complaint and moaning. | Plea for God to hear a desperate complaint. |
| Ps 102:19-20 | For he looked down from his holy height... to hear the groans of the prisoners. | God listens to the cries of the afflicted. |
| Exod 2:23-25 | The people of Israel groaned... and their cry for rescue went up to God. | God hears the cries of His oppressed people. |
| Jam 5:4 | The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. | God hears the cries of the oppressed workers. |
| Ps 18:35 | Your gentleness made me great. | God's help enables the weak. |
| Ps 71:12 | O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! | Call for swift divine assistance. |
| 2 Cor 12:9-10 | My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. | God's strength perfected in human weakness. |
| Isa 40:29-31 | He gives power to the faint... those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength. | God strengthens the weary and faint. |
| Zech 4:6 | Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. | Deliverance by God's Spirit, not human strength. |
| Ps 3:7 | Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! | Prayer for immediate deliverance from enemies. |
| Ps 7:1-2 | O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers. | Taking refuge in God from persecutors. |
| Ps 31:15 | My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies. | Deliverance from enemies rests in God's timing. |
| Ps 35:1-3 | Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me. | Plea for God to fight on behalf of the afflicted. |
| Luke 1:71-74 | ...delivered from the hand of our enemies. | Prophecy of salvation from enemies. |
| Rom 8:31 | If God is for us, who can be against us? | God's sovereignty over all adversaries. |
| 2 Thes 3:2 | Pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith. | Prayer for deliverance from malicious individuals. |
| Jonah 2:1-2 | From the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. | Prayer from extreme distress, heard by God. |
| Matt 26:38-39 | My soul is very sorrowful, even to death... Yet not as I will, but as you will. | Jesus' human distress and dependence on God. |
| Ps 27:1-3 | The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? | Trust in God dispels fear despite enemies. |
| Heb 5:7 | In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers... with loud cries and tears. | Christ's example of desperate prayer to the Father. |
Psalm 142 verses
Psalm 142 6 Meaning
Psalm 142:6 is a heartfelt plea to God from David, expressing his utter helplessness and desperate need for divine intervention. He appeals to God to listen intently to his intense cry of distress because he feels completely overwhelmed and brought to the lowest point of despair and weakness. His desperate situation is further exacerbated by powerful enemies who relentlessly pursue him, adversaries far superior in strength and number. Thus, David acknowledges his complete inability to rescue himself and implicitly affirms that only God possesses the power to deliver him from his insurmountable foes.
Psalm 142 6 Context
Psalm 142 is designated "A Maschil of David, A Prayer when he was in the cave." This attribution situates the psalm within a specific, dire period of David's life, likely referring to his flight from King Saul (e.g., 1 Sam 22:1 in the Cave of Adullam or 1 Sam 24:1-3 in the cave at En Gedi). At this time, David was in extreme personal distress, isolated, without human support, and facing imminent danger from Saul and his formidable army who relentlessly pursued his life. The preceding verses (142:1-5) describe David pouring out his complaint and disclosing his soul's overwhelming state before the LORD, emphasizing that there was no one to care for him or offer help. Verse 6, therefore, becomes the urgent, culminating plea for God's direct intervention, flowing from this profound sense of abandonment, weakness, and the overwhelming strength of his adversaries. It represents a pivot from lamenting his situation to a direct appeal for salvation, revealing his utter dependence on God as his sole refuge and deliverer.
Psalm 142 6 Word analysis
- Attend: The Hebrew word is qashav (קָשַׁב), meaning "to incline the ear," "to listen attentively," or "to heed." It's not just a request for God to hear physically, but to give serious consideration and responsive action to his plea, reflecting an urgent desire for divine engagement.
- unto my cry: The Hebrew is rinnah (רִנָּה), a vocal sound that can be a shout of joy, a triumphant song, but here specifically a passionate and distressed cry or lament, emphasizing the depth of emotion and urgent appeal for help. It's a vocal expression of profound suffering.
- for I am brought very low: The Hebrew dalal me'od (דָּלַל מְאֹד). Dalal means "to hang down," "to be feeble," "to be emptied out," signifying extreme physical, emotional, and social debasement or utter weakness. Me'od intensifies it to "very" or "exceedingly," underscoring the completeness of David's prostration, implying total lack of power, prestige, or support.
- deliver me: The Hebrew verb is natsal (נָצַל), which means "to snatch away," "to pull out," "to rescue," or "to tear away." It suggests a swift, forceful intervention by God to extract David from immediate and overwhelming danger, implying a perilous and urgent situation.
- from my persecutors: The Hebrew is mirādephay (מִרֹדְפַי), derived from radaf (רָדַף), "to pursue," "to chase," or "to hunt." This term highlights the relentless, hostile, and active pursuit by his enemies who are actively seeking to harm or destroy him.
- for they are stronger than I: The Hebrew is kī ‛āmeṭzū mimmenniy (כִּי אָמְצוּ מִמֶּנִּי). Ametz (אָמַץ) means "to be strong," "courageous," "firm," indicating superior power, numbers, or resolve. The phrase mimmenniy signifies "more than I" or "beyond me," highlighting David's complete disadvantage and inability to contend with them by his own power. It underlines the human impossibility of his situation, leaving God as the only possible source of deliverance.
Psalm 142 6 Bonus section
The Michtam designation of Psalm 142, often translated as "golden psalm" or "a writing," suggests a profound and enduring significance, a psalm deemed precious and timeless, conveying deep theological truths through personal lament. This psalm carries a subtle but powerful polemic: it implicitly rejects any reliance on human alliances, self-strength, or even other deities for rescue. David, surrounded by the might of Saul's army, unequivocally turns to Yahweh alone, affirming that the LORD's power is supreme over all human might and hostile forces. It also prophetically foreshadows the suffering Messiah (Christ) who, though truly God, experienced profound human weakness, abandonment, and faced overwhelming adversaries (e.g., in Gethsemane and on the cross), yet His ultimate deliverance came through complete dependence on the Father's will and power.
Psalm 142 6 Commentary
Psalm 142:6 is a potent articulation of human desperation met with absolute faith in divine power. David, from the isolation and terror of a cave, stripped of all human comfort and resources, lays bare his utter weakness before God. His appeal for God to "attend" his cry signifies a request not merely for an ear, but for active, engaged help. The "very low" condition highlights an exhaustive state—physically, emotionally, spiritually—leaving him entirely vulnerable. This weakness becomes the very basis of his plea, for it magnifies God’s greatness as the only rescuer capable of intervening in an otherwise hopeless situation. His persecutors represent overwhelming might, a power he cannot confront on his own. Thus, this verse serves as a timeless model of prayer: honest, vulnerable, and ultimately God-focused. It teaches that when we are at our weakest, and our adversaries at their strongest, our plea to God for rescue is paramount. It reminds us that our helplessness does not disqualify us from God's help but rather often brings us into the place where God's power is most profoundly demonstrated.