But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
Parallel translations
- WEB But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God.
- KJV But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
- NKJV But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.
- NASB But I am afflicted and needy; May the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my savior; Do not delay, my God.
- NLT As for me, since I am poor and needy, let the Lord keep me in his thoughts. You are my helper and my savior. O my God, do not delay.
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
Though poor and needy, David trusts the Lord as his help and deliverer and pleads, 'Don't delay.' Weakness becomes the ground of dependence on God.
Overview
David closes by confessing his neediness and resting wholly in God's care. He asks God to remember and act without delay. The poor and needy who look to the Lord are precisely those He delights to save (Matthew 5:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 70:5But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.
- Heb 13:6So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
- Isa 41:17The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Ps 34:6This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- 1 Pet 5:7Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
- Ps 54:4Surely God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
- Ps 86:1A prayer of David. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
- Ps 40:5Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.
- Ps 143:7–8Answer 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.
- 1 Pet 2:23When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
- Isa 50:7–9Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame.
- Ps 69:33For the LORD listens to the needy and does not despise His captive people.
- Jas 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Rev 22:20He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
- 2 Cor 8:9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Matt 8:20Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
- Ps 109:22For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 40:17 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.