But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them.
Parallel translations
- WEB But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.
- KJV But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.
- BSB But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, that I may repay them.
- NASB ¶But You, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, That I may repay them.
- NLT Lord, have mercy on me. Make me well again, so I can pay them back!
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 God to have mercy and raise him up so he may requite his enemies. He seeks restoration and just recompense.
Overview
Amid betrayal he turns to God for mercy and renewed strength. The desire to 'repay' is best understood as seeking God's vindication of justice through him as king. He leaves the outcome to the Lord rather than taking matters into his own hands.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Luke 19:27But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.’”
- Ps 3:3But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
- Ps 18:37–42I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them. Neither will I turn again until they are consumed.
- Ps 57:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave. Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.
- Ps 69:22–28Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap.
- Ps 109:6–21Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand.
- Ps 21:8–10Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
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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 41:10 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.