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Hear my prayer, Lord, Listen to my pleadings! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!
Psalms 143:1 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB A Psalm by David. Hear my prayer, Yahweh. Listen to my petitions. In your faithfulness and righteousness, relieve me.
  • KJV Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
  • BSB A Psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me.
  • NKJV Hear my prayer, O Lord, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, And in Your righteousness.
  • NLT Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my plea! Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.

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 asks God to hear his prayer and relieve him according to His faithfulness and righteousness. It appeals to God's character as the basis for help.

Overview

This penitential psalm opens with David grounding his plea not in his own merit but in God's covenant faithfulness and righteousness. He trusts that God's own nature compels Him to answer His servant. Such an appeal anticipates the gospel, where God is shown to be both just and the justifier of those who trust in Christ (Romans 3:26).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Ps 71:2Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me. Turn your ear to me, and save me.
  • Ps 31:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. Deliver me in your righteousness.
  • Ps 140:6I said to Yahweh, “You are my God.” Listen to the cry of my petitions, Yahweh.
  • Dan 9:16Lord, according to all your righteousness, let your anger and please let your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.
  • 1 Jn 1:9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
  • Ps 89:1–2A contemplation by Ethan, the Ezrahite. I will sing of the loving kindness of Yahweh forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
  • 2 Sam 7:25Now, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant, and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do as you have spoken.

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 143:1YouTube · 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 143:1 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.