The Meaning of Psalms 143:7 Explained

Psalms 143:7

KJV: Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

YLT: Haste, answer me, O Jehovah, My spirit hath been consumed, Hide not Thou Thy face from me, Or I have been compared with those going down to the pit.

Darby: Answer me speedily, O Jehovah; my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, or I shall be like unto them that go down into the pit.

ASV: Make haste to answer me, O Jehovah; my spirit faileth: Hide not thy face from me, Lest I become like them that go down into the pit.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Hear  me speedily,  O LORD:  my spirit  faileth:  hide  not thy face  from me, lest I be like  unto them that go down  into the pit. 

What does Psalms 143:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

David requested a quick reply to his prayer, since he felt he would die if one was not forthcoming immediately. Hiding one"s face pictures making oneself inaccessible.

Context Summary

Psalms 143:1-12 - The Cry Of The Thirsty Soul
This psalm falls into four stanzas of three verses each. Complaint, Psalms 143:1-3. Though the enemy has resorted to unwarrantable violence, David realized that his past had been by no means immaculate. The holiest have least confidence in themselves, Job 9:3; Philippians 3:7. Bernard of Clairvaux said: "So far from being able to answer for my sins, I cannot answer even for my righteousness." There is no judgment or condemnation for those who are in Christ, because they were judged in Him. Now God's justice is on our side, 1 John 1:9.
Depression, Psalms 143:4-6. Those capable of the sunny heights are capable of the lowest depths. Memory, meditation, and musing often lead to melancholy. But reach out after God. To thirst for Him is to have Him. To desire is to possess. Entreaty, Psalms 143:7-9. Hear me; cause me to hear; cause me to know; deliver me. Docility, Psalms 143:10-12 : We can trust ourselves absolutely to be led by God's Spirit, because He is good and He brings the soul out of trouble into the land of uprightness, Romans 8:14. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 143

1  David prays for favor in judgment
3  He complains of his grief
5  He strengthens his faith by meditation and prayer
7  He prays for grace
9  For deliverance
10  For sanctification
12  For destruction of his enemies

What do the individual words in Psalms 143:7 mean?

Speedily Answer me Yahweh fails My spirit not do hide Your face from me and lest I be like to those who go down into the pit
מַ֘הֵ֤ר עֲנֵ֨נִי ׀ יְהוָה֮ כָּלְתָ֪ה ר֫וּחִ֥י אַל־ תַּסְתֵּ֣ר פָּנֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּ֑נִּי וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּי עִם־ יֹ֥רְדֵי בֽוֹר

מַ֘הֵ֤ר  Speedily 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: מַהֵר  
Sense: hurrying, speedy, swift, hastening adv.
עֲנֵ֨נִי ׀  Answer  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: לְעַנּׄות 
Sense: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.
יְהוָה֮  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
כָּלְתָ֪ה  fails 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.
ר֫וּחִ֥י  My  spirit 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, first person common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
תַּסְתֵּ֣ר  do  hide 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect Jussive, second person masculine singular
Root: סָתַר  
Sense: to hide, conceal.
פָּנֶ֣יךָ  Your  face 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
מִמֶּ֑נִּי  from  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּי  and  lest  I  be  like 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: מָשַׁל 
Sense: to represent, liken, be like.
יֹ֥רְדֵי  those  who  go  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
בֽוֹר  into  the  pit 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּור 
Sense: pit, well, cistern.