Psalms 142:1–3
From the cave, David pours out his complaint and distress before God
Study it word by word1A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. With my voice to YHWH I cry out; with my voice to YHWH I make supplication.
2I pour out before him my complaint; my distress before him I declare.
3When my spirit grows faint within me, you know my pathway; in the path where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.
In its context
…
4Look to the right and see: there is no one who recognizes me; escape has perished from me; there is no one who inquires after my soul.
5I have cried out to you, YHWH; I have said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
Its words in the original
- מַשְׂכִּילmaskil· maskil
Maskil: a word in the title of thirteen psalms. It comes from "understand" and probably names a skillful or teaching poem. Its exact sense is not known.
- דָוִדdavid· David
David, youngest son of Jesse, of Bethlehem; the second king of Israel. The name means "beloved."
- הְיוֹתheot· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- מְּעָרָהmeara· cave
Cave.
- תְפִלָּהtefila· prayer
Prayer: words addressed to God to ask, to intercede or to praise. Several psalms bear this name.
- קוֹלִkoli· voice, sound
Voice or sound: what is heard, from a person, an animal or a thing (thunder, steps).
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- אֶזְעָקezak· cry out
Cry out, shout for help; also call together.
- אֶתְחַנָּןetchanan· be gracious
Show favor: treat someone with a kindness he has not earned; have compassion. In another form, plead for favor.
- אֶשְׁפֹּךְeshpoch· pour out, shed
Pour out, pour. "Shed blood" is to kill; "pour out one's soul" or "one's heart" is to open it before God.
- פָנָיfanay· face, presence
Face. From there "surface" (the face of something) and "presence" (being before someone's face); with a preposition it means "before" or "in front of".
- שִׂיחִsichi· complaint, musing
Complaint, what someone says when pouring out his grief; also "musing, meditation."
- צָרָתִtsarati· distress
Distress, trouble, anguish; also a rival wife.
- אַגִּידagid· tell, declare
Tell, make known, report, declare; also explain.
- הִתְעַטֵּףhitatef· grow faint
Grow faint, be weak; also wrap, cover oneself.
- רוּחִruchi· spirit, wind, breath
The basic idea is "air in motion". The same word can be "wind"; "breath", the air that is breathed and keeps life; or "spirit": the mood or inner strength of a person, or the Spirit of God, his presence and power at work.
- יָדַעְתָּyadata· know
Know. Not only having a fact: it is knowing by experience and closely; also recognize, care for, make known. So Hebrew also uses it for the intimate union of a man and his wife ("he knew his wife").
- נְתִיבָתִnetivati· path
Path: a narrow way marked out by people's steps.
- אֹרַחorach· path, way
Way, path; one's usual manner. "The way of women" is menstruation. Also a caravan.
- זוּzu· this; which
This; who, which (poetic form).
- אֲהַלֵּךְahalech· go, walk
Go, walk, come. Figuratively, the way one lives ("walk with God").
- טָמְנוּtamnu· hide, bury
Hide by burying in the ground.
- פַחfach· thin sheet; trap
Thin sheet of metal. The same word, in other passages, means "trap" (a net for catching birds).