Bible Strands
Psalms 143:9
Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD; I flee to You for refuge.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses Yahweh during a crisis of pursuit, shifting from a morning request for guidance to an immediate plea for rescue.
The words — הַצִּילֵ֖נִי (ha.tzi.leni) issues a direct command for Yahweh to "deliver" the speaker, while כִסִּֽתִי (khi.si.ti) literally translates as "I have covered," denoting a flight into protective shelter.
The thread — This flight to divine protection recurs in Proverbs 18:10 and Psalm 61:3, where God functions as a strong tower against those who seek harm.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to abandon self-sufficiency and actively seek sanctuary in God’s name when facing immediate threat.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Psalms 61:3 For You have been my refuge, a tower of strength against the enemy.
- Psalms 59:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise against me.
- Psalms 142:5 I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- Psalms 31:15 My times are in Your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.
- Psalms 34:2 My soul boasts in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
- Psalms 56:9 Then my enemies will retreat on the day I cry for help. By this I will know that God is on my side.
- Hebrews 6:18 Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.