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Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
Psalms 30:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me. Yahweh, be my helper.”
  • BSB Hear me, O LORD, and have mercy; O LORD, be 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 54:4Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
  • Ps 143:1Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
  • Ps 143:7–9Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
  • Ps 28:7The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
  • Ps 27:7Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
  • Ps 51:1–2Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

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 30:10YouTube · 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 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.