I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord 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.
- KJV I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
- 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.
- 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 57:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave. Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.
- Ps 30:8I cried to you, Yahweh. I made supplication to the Lord:
- Ps 141:1A Psalm by David. Yahweh, I have called on you. Come to me quickly! Listen to my voice when I call to you.
- 1 Chr 4:10Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border! May your hand be with me, and may you keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” God granted him that which he requested.
- 1 Sam 24:3He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were staying in the innermost parts of the cave.
- Ps 77:1–2For the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm by Asaph. My cry goes to God! Indeed, I cry to God for help, and for him to listen to me.
- Ps 28:2Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, when I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
- Ps 32:1By David. A contemplative psalm. Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
- Ps 54:1For the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A contemplation by David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Isn’t David hiding himself among us?” Save me, God, by your name. Vindicate me in your might.
- Heb 11:38(of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.
- 1 Sam 22:1–2David therefore departed from there, and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.
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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.