Psalm

A Prayer for Deliverance from Pursuers

A maskil of David.

When he was in the cave. A prayer.[a]

142 
I cry out with my voice to Yahweh;

I implore favor with my voice to Yahweh.

I pour out my complaint before him;

I declare my trouble before him.

When my spirit faints within me,

you know my way.

On the path where I walk,

they have hidden a trap for me;

look to my right and see.

There is no one looking out for me;

there is no escape for me;[b]

no one cares for my soul.[c]

I cry out to you, O Yahweh.

I say, “You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.”

Attend to my cry,

for I am brought very low.

Deliver me from my pursuers,

for they are stronger than I.

Bring me[d] out of prison,

that I may give thanks to your name.

The righteous will encircle me,

because you will deal bountifully with me.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 142:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  2. Psalm 142:4 Hebrew “a refuge has perished from me”
  3. Psalm 142:4 Or “life”
  4. Psalm 142:7 Hebrew “my soul”