Psalms 69:14
in Psalms 69Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink; deliver me from my foes and out of the deep waters.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: Let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
KJV
Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
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This verse in Psalms 69
Commentary
6 notes on this verseDeliver me out of the mire and let me not sink. He turns into prayer the very words of his complaint; and it is well, if, when we complain, we neither feel nor say anything which we should fear to utter before the Lord as a prayer. We are allowed to ask for deliverance from trouble as well as for support under it; both petitions are here combined. How strange it seems to hear such language from the Lord of glory. Let me be delivered from them that hate, me, and out of the deep waters.
This site's exposition
for a time of favor
on Psalms 69:13-15
Verse 13 asks for a time of favor. Spurgeon reads that as faith's claim on God's timing, made while the mire of verse 2 still holds him. Verse 15 names three shapes of drowning: the flood, the depths, and the Pit's closing mouth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Save Me from the mire, that I may not stick" [Psalm 69:14]. From that whereof above he had spoken, "Fixed I am in the clay of the deep, and there is no substance." Furthermore, since you have duly received the exposition of that expression, in this place there is nothing further for you to hear particularly. From hence he says that he must be delivered, wherein before he said that he was fixed: "Save Me from the mire, that I may not stick." And he explains this himself: "Let Me be rescued from them that hate Me." They were themselves therefore the clay wherein he had stuck. But the following perchance suggests itself. A little before he had said, Fixed I am; now he says, Save Me from the mire, that I may not stick: whereas after the meaning of what was said before he ought to have said, Save Me from the mire where I had stuck, by rescuing Me, not by causing that I stick not. Therefore He had stuck in flesh, but had not stuck in spirit. He says this, because of the infirmity of His members. Whenever perchance you are seized by one that urges you to iniquity, your body indeed is taken, in regard to the body you are fixed in the clay of the deep: but so long as you consent not, you have not stuck; but if you consent, you have stuck. Let then your prayer be in that place, in order that as your body is now held, so your soul may not be held, so you may be free in bonds.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Deliver me out of the mire and let me not sink. He turns into prayer the very words of his complaint; and it is well, if, when we complain, we neither feel nor say anything which we should fear to utter before the Lord as a prayer. We are allowed to ask for deliverance from trouble as well as for support under it; both petitions are here combined. How strange it seems to hear such language from the Lord of glory. Let me be delivered from them that hate, me, and out of the deep waters. Both from his foes, and the griefs which they caused him, he seeks a rescue. God can help us in all ways, and we may, therefore, put up a variety of requests without fear of exceeding our liberty to ask, or his ability to answer.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Deliver me out of the mire - Out of my troubles and calamities. See Psa 69:1-2. And let me not sink - As in, mire. Let me not be overwhelmed by my sorrows. Let me be delivered from them that hate me - All my enemies. Let me be saved from their machinations and devices. And out of the deep waters - See Psa 69:1-2. From my troubles.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
But, as for me, may my prayer to You, O Lord, be may the time of my prayer be a desirable time.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
and melodies they made of me for those who imbibe strong drink.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַצִּילֵ֣נִי | hatzileni | deliver me | H5337 → | 212 times |
| מִ֭טִּיט | mitit | from [the] mud | H2916 → | 13 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| אֶטְבָּ֑עָה | ʾetbaah | I sink | H2883 → | 10 times |
| אִנָּצְלָ֥ה | ʾinatzelah | may I be delivered | H5337 → | 212 times |
| מִ֝שֹּֽׂנְאַ֗י | misoneai | from [those who] hate me | H8130 → | 146 times |
| וּמִמַּֽעֲמַקֵּי־ | umimaamakei- | and from depths of | H4615 → | 5 times |
| מָֽיִם׃ | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
הַצִּילֵ֣נִיdeliver me
hatzileniH5337 →212 times
מִ֭טִּיטfrom [the] mud
mititH2916 →13 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
אֶטְבָּ֑עָהI sink
ʾetbaahH2883 →10 times
אִנָּצְלָ֥הmay I be delivered
ʾinatzelahH5337 →212 times
מִ֝שֹּֽׂנְאַ֗יfrom [those who] hate me
misoneaiH8130 →146 times
וּמִמַּֽעֲמַקֵּי־and from depths of
umimaamakei-H4615 →5 times
מָֽיִם׃water
mayimH4325 →581 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 109:21But You, O GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name; deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
it leads to
- Psalms 31:3
For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
- Psalms 69:16
Answer me, O LORD, for Your loving devotion is good; turn to me in keeping with Your great compassion.
- Psalms 79:9–10
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.
- Psalms 63:3
Because Your loving devotion is better than life, my lips will glorify You.
- Philippians 2:8–11
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
- Psalms 31:3
Through
Psalms 144:7Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,
it leads to
- Psalms 69:1–2
Save me, O God, for the waters are up to my neck.
- Psalms 18:16
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
- Psalms 54:3
For strangers rise up against me, and ruthless men seek my life— men with no regard for God. Selah
- Psalms 69:1–2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this chapter
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 69; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).