Psalms 142

I cried out loud to the LORD. Out loud I begged the LORD for help.

1I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.

NoteLORD printed in capitals stands in for the personal name of God in Hebrew, four consonants often written Yahweh. Jewish readers said "the Lord" aloud in its place, and English Bibles have followed that custom ever since.

2I poured out my whole complaint in front of him. I told him everything that was wrong.

2I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.

NoteThe Hebrew word behind "complaint" means laying out a case or spilling out what is troubling you. It is not grumbling or fault-finding; it is closer to telling someone the whole of what has gone wrong.

3When my spirit grew weak inside me, you still knew the path I was on. On the road I was walking, they hid a trap to catch me.

3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.

NoteA snare was a hidden trap, a noose or spring-net a hunter set in the grass to catch birds or small animals. Being trapped by concealed hunters is a stock image in the Psalms for an ambush by enemies.

4I looked to my right side and saw that no one would stand up for me. There was nowhere to run for safety. No one cared whether I lived.

4I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

NoteLooking to the right had a specific sense: a man's defender, witness, or supporter stood at his right side, both in battle (the side unprotected by his own shield) and in a legal dispute. Finding no one there means finding no one willing to speak or fight for him.

5I cried out to you, LORD. I said, "You are my safe place. You are all I have, here among the living."

5I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

Note"Portion" is the word for the share of family land each Israelite household was allotted, the property that gave a person standing and security. The priestly tribe received no land and was told instead that the LORD himself was their portion; the speaker here claims the same thing. "The land of the living" means the world of people still alive, as opposed to the realm of the dead.

6Listen to my cry, because I have been brought very low. Save me from the ones chasing me, because they are stronger than I am.

6Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.

7Bring me out of prison, so I can praise your name. Then people who live right will gather around me, because you will treat me well.

7Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

Note"Prison" may be literal confinement or a figure for being hemmed in by trouble; the Hebrew leaves both open. "Compass me about" means to form a circle around someone, here either crowding round in celebration or ringing him as a crowd of witnesses; the poem does not settle which.