This article is about Psalm 142 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 142 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 143.
Psalm 142
"I cried unto the LORD with my voice"
Statue of Mary and Saint Anne in Molln church; Anne holds a scroll with a quotation from Ps 142: Tu es spes mea, portio mea ("Thou art my refuge and my portion.")
Psalm 142 is the 142nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I cried unto the LORD with my voice." In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible, and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 141. In Latin, it is known as "Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi".[1] It is attributed to David in the opening verses.[2] It is labelled as a maschil or contemplation.[3] The text is presented as a prayer uttered by David at the time he was hiding in the Cave of Adullam (part of the David and Jonathan narrative in the Books of Samuel). Albert Barnes notes that "a prayer when he was in the cave" could mean it was a prayer which he composed while in the cave, or one which he composed at a later date, "putting into a poetic form the substance of the prayer which he breathed forth there."[4] It is, consequently, used as a prayer in times of distress.
The following table shows the Hebrew text[5][6] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
Bring my soul out of prison, That I may give thanks unto Thy name; The righteous shall crown themselves because of me; For Thou wilt deal bountifully with me.
King James Version
The following is the English text of the Psalm from the King James Bible.
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.
I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
Verse numbering
In the Hebrew Bible, Psalm 142:1 comprises the designation
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. (KJV)
From then on verses 1–7 in most English versions correspond to verses 2–8 in the Hebrew text.[a]
Barnes points out that the psalmist is not so much "complaining" as meditating, or praying for release.[4]
Liturgical use
In Catholic liturgy, this psalm has been recited at Vespers since the Middle Ages. According to the Rule of St. Benedict (530), this psalm traditionally appeared on Friday night.[8][9] In the current Liturgy of the Hours, this psalm is recited on Saturday Vespers in the first week of the cycle of four weeks. Psalm 142 is said or sung at Evensong on the 29th of the month following the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer. This psalm is known to have been recited by Saint Francis of Assisi on his deathbed.
Musical settings
Heinrich Schütz composed a metred paraphrase of Psalm 142 in German, "Ich schrei zu meinem lieben Gott", SWV 247, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.
