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Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate.
Psalms 143:4 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
  • BSB My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me.
  • NKJV Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed.
  • NASB Therefore my spirit feels weak within me; My heart is appalled within me.
  • NLT I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.

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.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Ps 142:3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my route. On the path in which I walk, they have hidden a snare for me.
  • Ps 77:3I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah.
  • Luke 22:44Being in agony he prayed more earnestly. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.
  • Ps 55:5Fearfulness and trembling have come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me.
  • Ps 102:3–4For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a torch.
  • Job 6:27Yes, you would even cast lots for the fatherless, and make merchandise of your friend.
  • Ps 102:1A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before Yahweh. Hear my prayer, Yahweh! Let my cry come to you.
  • Ps 25:16Turn to me, and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted.
  • Ps 119:81–83My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word.
  • Ps 124:4then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul;
  • Ps 61:2From the end of the earth, I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

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 143:4YouTube · 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 143:4 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.