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:
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;
- BSB Be merciful to me, O LORD; see how my enemies afflict me! Lift 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, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
- Ps 86:13For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
- Isa 38:10I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
- Ps 13:3Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
- Ps 142:6Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
- Ps 38:19But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
- Ps 56:13For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
- Ps 119:153Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
- Ps 119:132Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
- Lam 1:11All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile.
- Ps 107:18Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
- Lam 1:9Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself.
- Ps 116:3–4The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
- Ps 25:19Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
- Ps 51:1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
- Neh 9:32Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.
- John 2:6And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 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.