Psalm 143:6

Translations

Modern

I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah

Traditional

I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

Literal

I spread out my hands to You; my soul is like a land exhausted for You. Selah

Latin

Expandi manus meas ad te; anima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.

Original

Hebrew

English

I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah

Notes

Psalms 143:6

The psalmist’s thirst is a deep longing for God’s redemption (see Psalm 42:1–2).

Psalms 143:5–6

Remembering God’s acts from the past reassures the psalmist of God’s faithfulness (Psalms 42:4; 63:6; 77:3, 6; 119:55).

Psalms 143:1–12

In this lament, the psalmist feels overwhelmed by constant trouble from his enemies, so he turns to the Lord’s love, righteousness, and faithfulness. He remembers what God has done in the past and longs for God to renew his love. He opens himself to God’s wisdom because he knows that God’s instruction leads to life.

Psalms 138:1–145:21

In this final group of psalms of David, psalms of praise and wisdom (Psalms 138–139, 145) form a frame around five psalms of lament (Psalms 140–144).

Theme notes and profiles

David

Related verses

Job 11:13
As for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him,
Psalm 63:1
A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
Psalm 84:2
My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Psalm 88:9
My eyes grow dim with grief. I call to You daily, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You.
Psalm 42:1–2
For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
Psalm 44:20
If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
Isaiah 26:8–9
Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
Isaiah 35:7
The parched ground will become a pool, the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt where jackals once lay, there will be grass and reeds and papyrus.
John 7:37
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

People

Selah: A musical or liturgical term of uncertain meaning

Glossary

Mercy Music Psalms, Book of Water

Topics

Afflictions and Adversities: Prayer In Desire: Spiritual Seekers: General Scriptures Concerning Thirst: Figurative of the Ardent Desire of the Devout Mind

Psalm 143:6

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