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Psalm 40:12-14
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 40:12-14
New Catholic Bible
12 O Lord, do not withhold your mercy from me;
may your kindness[a] and your truth keep me safe forever.
13 I am surrounded by evils without number;
my sins have so engulfed me that I cannot see.
They outnumber the hairs on my head,
and my heart sinks within me.[b]
14 [c]Be pleased, O Lord, to rescue me
O Lord, come quickly to my aid.
Footnotes
- Psalm 40:12 Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
- Psalm 40:13 Hyperbolic statements expressing the intense nature of the sinner’s sufferings (see Pss 6:8; 38:4f, 11; 69:5), which serve as a transition to the second part of the psalm.
- Psalm 40:14 Distress can remind a person of his attachment to sin. Is there any reason why people should vilify the person who acknowledges his faults? Realizing his attraction toward evil, the psalmist cries out to God, and the poor man rediscovers the joyous assurance that God thinks about him.
