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A Psalm of David. I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to You.
Psalms 141:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB A Psalm by David. Yahweh, I have called on you. Come to me quickly! Listen to my voice when I call to you.
  • KJV Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
  • NKJV Lord, I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
  • NASB Lord, I call upon You; hurry to me! Listen to my voice when I call to You!
  • NLT O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help!

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

David urgently calls on Yahweh to come quickly and hear his voice. It opens a prayer marked by dependence and a longing for God's swift help.

Overview

This Davidic psalm begins with earnest, repeated pleas for God to listen and act without delay. The urgency reflects real distress and the conviction that God hears His people. Believers in Christ have even greater confidence to draw near, assured of a sympathetic High Priest who hears (Hebrews 4:16).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Ps 70:5But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.
  • Ps 71:12Be not far from me, O God. Hurry, O my God, to help me.
  • Ps 40:13Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; hurry, O LORD, to help me.
  • Ps 143:7Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
  • Ps 69:17–18Hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me quickly!
  • Ps 22:19But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
  • Job 7:21Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”
  • Ps 143:1A Psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 141:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 141:1 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.