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Psalm 143[a]

A psalm of David.

143 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for help.
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me.
Do not sit in judgment on[b] your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you.[c]
Certainly[d] my enemies[e] chase me.
They smash me into the ground.[f]
They force me to live[g] in dark regions,[h]
like those who have been dead for ages.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 143:1 sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
  2. Psalm 143:2 tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”
  3. Psalm 143:2 tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”
  4. Psalm 143:3 tn Or “for.”
  5. Psalm 143:3 tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).
  6. Psalm 143:3 tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”
  7. Psalm 143:3 tn Or “sit.”
  8. Psalm 143:3 sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).