Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.
Parallel translations
- WEB Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me. Refuge has fled from me. No one cares for my soul.
- KJV I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
- NKJV Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul.
- NASB Look to the right and see; For there is no one who regards me favorably; There is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul.
- NLT I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.
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 looks around and finds no one who cares for his soul; refuge has fled. It voices the painful loneliness of abandonment.
Overview
At his lowest, David feels utterly alone, with no human helper or place of escape. This honest cry of isolation drives him to God as his only refuge in the next verse. Even Christ knew abandonment, that we who trust Him might never be finally forsaken (Matthew 27:46; Hebrews 13:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Jer 30:17But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because they call you an outcast, Zion, for whom no one cares.”
- Ps 88:18You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
- Ps 31:11Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends—they flee when they see me on the street.
- Job 19:13–19He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
- Matt 26:56But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.
- Ps 69:20Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one.
- 1 Sam 27:1David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
- Ps 88:8You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
- 2 Tim 4:16At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.
- 1 Sam 23:11–13Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” “He will,” said the LORD.
- 1 Sam 23:19–20Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?
- Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
- Jer 25:35Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock.
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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 142:4 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.