Attend to me, and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and moan,
Parallel translations
- KJV Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
- BSB Attend to me and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and distraught
- ESV Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
- NKJV Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,
- NASB Give Your attention to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and severely distracted,
- NLT Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 is restless and moaning under his complaint, begging God to attend and answer. It voices raw inner turmoil laid before God.
Overview
Unable to find peace, David tells God of his agitation and groaning. He does not hide his distress but presents it openly in prayer. Such honest lament shows that faith makes room for grief and confusion while still seeking God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 38:14I chattered like a swallow or a crane. I moaned like a dove. My eyes weaken looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed. Be my security.”
- Ps 66:19But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer.
- Ps 77:3I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah.
- Isa 59:11We all roar like bears, and moan bitterly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
- Ps 64:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
- Ps 38:6I am pained and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.
- Ps 102:9–10For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears,
- Ps 43:2For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
- Ps 32:3When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
- Ps 13:1–2For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from 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 55:2 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.