Psalms 142 (DBY)

Chapter Text

142:1 {An instruction of David; when he was in the cave: a prayer.} I cry unto Jehovah with my voice: with my voice unto Jehovah do I make supplication.

142:2 I pour out my plaint before him; I shew before him my trouble.

142:3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then *thou* knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they hidden a snare for me.

142:4 Look on the right hand and see; there is no man that knoweth me: refuge hath failed me; no man careth for my soul.

142:5 I cried unto thee, Jehovah; I said, Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

142:6 Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I.

142:7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may celebrate thy name. The righteous shall surround me, because thou dealest bountifully with me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "instruction", "david", "cave", "prayer", "jehovah", and "voice". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "instruction", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local DBY text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "Spirit" and "instruction" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "instruction" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.