Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call.
- BSB Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call.
- NKJV Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
- NASB Do not hide Your face from me on the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; On the day when I call answer me quickly.
- NLT Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He begs God not to hide His face but to answer quickly in his distress. He longs for God's nearness in his trouble.
Overview
The psalmist fears God's seeming absence and pleads for a swift response in his day of distress. The 'hiding of the face' expresses the felt loss of God's favor in suffering. Such honest prayer reflects faith reaching for God even when He seems distant, an experience Jesus knew in His own suffering.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ps 69:17And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
- Ps 27:9Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
- Ps 70:1MAKE HASTE, O GOD, TO DELIVER ME; MAKE HASTE TO HELP ME, O LORD.
- Isa 8:17And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
- Ps 143:7Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
- Ps 88:2–18Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
- Ps 71:2Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
- 1 Cor 10:13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
- Acts 12:5–25Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
- Ps 104:29Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
- Ps 22:19But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
- Isa 43:2When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
- Ps 40:13Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
- Ps 31:2Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.
- Job 34:29When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
- Isa 65:24And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
- Job 7:21And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
- Ps 13:1How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 102:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.