Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
Parallel translations
- WEB Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am in distress. My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief.
- BSB Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well.
- 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 6:7Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
- Ps 88:9Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
- Ps 73:26My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
- Ps 107:10Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
- Ps 73:14For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.
- Ps 38:1–10O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
- Job 33:19–22He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain:
- Ps 22:14–15I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
- Ps 102:3–5For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
- Ps 6:1–2O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
- Ps 44:25For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
- Ps 88:3–5For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
- Lam 4:17As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
- Ps 66:14Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
- Job 17:7Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.
- Lam 5:17For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.