Hear me, O LORD, and have mercy; O LORD, be my helper.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me. Yahweh, be my helper.”
- KJV Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
- NKJV Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!”
- NASB ¶“Hear, Lord, and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper.”
- NLT Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me. Help me, O Lord.”
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 the Lord to hear, show mercy, and be his helper. It is a direct plea for God's gracious aid.
Overview
The petition is simple and dependent, casting David wholly on God's mercy. He seeks not his own merit but God's help. Such prayer expresses the humility that befits all who come to God, ultimately through the Helper and Mediator, Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 54:4Surely God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
- Ps 143:1A Psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me.
- Ps 143:7–9Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
- Ps 28:7The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.
- Ps 27:7Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call; be merciful and answer me.
- Ps 51:1–2For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 30:10 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.