Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
Parallel translations
- WEB Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
- BSB Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.
- NKJV Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.
- NASB Be gracious to me, Lord, For I call upon You all day long.
- NLT Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly.
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 for mercy because he calls on God all day long. Persistent prayer flows from continual dependence on God's grace.
Overview
The plea for mercy underscores that David rests on grace, not desert, even as he prays constantly. His unceasing calling reflects a heart that seeks God throughout the day. This pattern of continual prayer and dependence on mercy is fulfilled and modeled in Christ, who taught His followers to pray always.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 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 57:1Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
- Eph 6:18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
- Ps 25:5Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
- Ps 55:17Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
- Ps 4:1Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
- Ps 56:1Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.
- Luke 2:37And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
- Luke 11:8–13I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
- Luke 18:7And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
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 86:3 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.