Be merciful to me, O LORD; see how my enemies afflict me! Lift me up from the gates of death,
Parallel translations
- WEB Have mercy on me, Yahweh. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death;
- KJV Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
- NKJV Have mercy on me, O Lord! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death,
- NASB Be gracious to me, Lord; See my oppression from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death,
- NLT Lord, have mercy on me. See how my enemies torment me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death.
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 pleads for mercy, asking God to see his affliction and lift him from death's gates. Even the confident worshiper depends on God's rescuing grace.
Overview
The psalm turns to petition as David, surrounded by those who hate him, appeals to God's mercy. 'The gates of death' picture nearness to the grave from which only God can deliver. The cry for rescue from death points ultimately to the One who holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 30:3O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol; You spared me from descending into the Pit.
- Ps 86:13For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.
- Isa 38:10I said, “In the prime of my life I must go through the gates of Sheol and be deprived of the remainder of my years.”
- Ps 13:3Consider me and respond, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death,
- Ps 142:6Listen to my cry, for I am brought quite low. Rescue me from my pursuers, for they are too strong for me.
- Ps 38:19Many are my enemies without cause, and many hate me without reason.
- Ps 56:13For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
- Ps 119:153Look upon my affliction and rescue me, for I have not forgotten Your law.
- Ps 119:132Turn to me and show me mercy, as You do to those who love Your name.
- Lam 1:11All her people groan as they search for bread. They have traded their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Look, O LORD, and consider, for I have become despised.
- Ps 107:18They loathed all food and drew near to the gates of death.
- Lam 1:9Her uncleanness stains her skirts; she did not consider her end. Her downfall was astounding; there was no one to comfort her. Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!
- Ps 116:3–4The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
- Ps 25:19Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with vicious hatred.
- Ps 51:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
- Neh 9:32So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.
- John 2:6Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 9:13 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.