O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
Parallel translations
- WEB Turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your servant.
- BSB Turn to me and have mercy; grant Your strength to Your servant; save the son of Your maidservant.
- NKJV Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your maidservant.
- NASB Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Grant Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your maidservant.
- NLT Look down and have mercy on me. Give your strength to your servant; save me, the son of your servant.
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 turn to him, show mercy, give strength, and save His servant. He pleads for help on the basis of being God's own.
Overview
Identifying as God's servant and 'the son of your servant,' David appeals to the covenant bond and asks for renewed mercy and strength. The language of servanthood expresses lifelong belonging to God. Such reliance points to Christ, the true Servant, through whom God's people are strengthened and saved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Eph 6:10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
- Phil 4:13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
- Isa 40:29–31He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
- Ps 116:16O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
- Ps 25:16Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
- Ps 138:3In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
- Col 1:11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
- Eph 3:16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
- Ps 90:13Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
- Ps 69:16Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
- Ps 84:5Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
- Zech 10:12And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.
- Ps 119:132Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
- Ps 119:94I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
- Ps 28:7–8The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
- Luke 1:38And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
- Isa 45:24Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 86:16 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.