Psalms 143:3 BSB — MannaFest

Psalms 143:3

For the enemy has pursued my soul, crushing my life to the ground, making me dwell in darkness like those long since dead.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; He hath smitten my life down to the ground: He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.

KJV

For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.

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Commentary

2 voices

Jerome

Homily 53, on Psalm 142 (420)

For the enemy has persecuted my soul. This needs no interpretation: no one doubts that it is the devil. He has humbled my life on the earth. This is what he means. Before this I had wings, and I flew: but now the enemy has persecuted me and seized me, and bound my feet and my hands; just as a bird is caught by a man, and seems as it were to be dead, because it does not have the free use of its wings to fly.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)

For the enemy hath persecuted my soul. He has followed me up with malicious perseverance, and has worried me as often as I have been within his reach. The attack was upon the soul or life of the Psalmist: our adversaries mean us the worst possible evil, their attacks are no child's play, they hunt for the precious life. He hath smitten my life down to the ground.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
כִּ֥י	ki	for	H3588 →
רָ֘דַ֤ף	ra.Daf	he has pursued	H7291 →
אוֹיֵ֨ב׀	'o.Yev	an enemy	H341 →
נַפְשִׁ֗י	naf.Shi	self my	H5315 →
דִּכָּ֣א	di.Ka'	he has crushed	H1792 →
לָ֭אָרֶץ	La.'a.retz	to the ground	H776 →
חַיָּתִ֑י	chai.ya.Ti	life my	H2416 →
הוֹשִׁיבַ֥נִי	ho.shi.Va.ni	he has caused to dwell me	H3427 →
בְ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים	ve.ma.cha.sha.Kim	in dark places	H4285 →
כְּמֵתֵ֥י	ke.me.Tei	like dead [people] of	H4191 →
עוֹלָֽם׃	o.Lam	antiquity	H5769 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Lamentations 3:6
He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages.
leads to
- Psalms 88:5–6
  I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care.
Through
2 Samuel 2:22
Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”
leads to
- 2 Samuel 3:27
  When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the…
- Proverbs 29:1
  A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
Through
Psalms 7:5
then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Selah
leads to
- Malachi 4:3
  Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Psalms 44:5
  Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
- Psalms 3:2
  Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah
- Jeremiah 17:13
  O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of…
- Psalms 49:12
  But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

About Psalms

Saul attempts to kill David (the harpist of Israel) — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Psalms: the study guide →Read chapter 143 →The featured study →

Continue: Psalms 143 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Psalms

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Psalms