I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
Parallel translations
- WEB A contemplation by David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. I cry with my voice to Yahweh. With my voice, I ask Yahweh for mercy.
- BSB A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy.
- NKJV I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
- NASB I cry out with my voice to the Lord; With my voice I implore the Lord for compassion.
- NLT I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy.
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
In the cave, David cries aloud to Yahweh and pleads for mercy. It opens a desperate prayer from a place of distress and hiding.
Overview
This contemplation, set when David hid in a cave fleeing Saul, shows him pouring out his voice to God in crisis. Even in isolation, prayer is his first resort. The pattern of crying to God from the depths is fulfilled in Christ, who in His distress prayed to the Father (Hebrews 5:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 57:1Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
- Ps 30:8I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.
- Ps 141:1Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
- 1 Chr 4:10And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
- 1 Sam 24:3And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
- Ps 77:1–2I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
- Ps 28:2Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
- Ps 32:1Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
- Ps 54:1Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.
- Heb 11:38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
- 1 Sam 22:1–2David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 142:1 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.