Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well.
Parallel translations
- WEB Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am in distress. My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief.
- KJV Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
- NKJV Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; My eye wastes away with grief, Yes, my soul and my body!
- NASB ¶Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body too.
- NLT Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away.
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 begs for mercy in his distress as his eye, soul, and body waste away with grief. It voices the toll of prolonged suffering.
Overview
The psalm turns to lament, describing how sorrow consumes David inwardly and outwardly. He holds nothing back in bringing his anguish to God. Such honest lament shows that faith does not deny pain but carries it to the Lord who alone can heal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 6:7My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.
- Ps 88:9My eyes grow dim with grief. I call to You daily, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You.
- Ps 73:26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
- Ps 107:10Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,
- Ps 73:14For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
- Ps 38:1–10A Psalm of David, for remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
- Job 33:19–22A man is also chastened on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,
- Ps 22:14–15I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
- Ps 102:3–5For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.
- Ps 6:1–2For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
- Ps 44:25For our soul has sunk to the dust; our bodies cling to the earth.
- Ps 88:3–5For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
- Lam 4:17All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.
- Ps 66:14the vows that my lips promised and my mouth spoke in my distress.
- Job 17:7My eyes have grown dim with grief, and my whole body is but a shadow.
- Lam 5:17Because of this, our hearts are faint; because of these, our eyes grow dim—
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 31:9 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.