Bible Strands
Psalms 86:1
A prayer of David. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses Yahweh directly, identifying himself as poor and needy. The superscript marks this as a personal prayer, not a liturgical composition.
The words — עָנִי ('ani), "poor," is a noun used as a predicate here: "I am [a] poor one." It is a technical Hebrew term for the socially and economically low, one who has no standing to demand an answer.
The thread — The "incline your ear" formula recurs in Psalms 31:2 and Daniel 9:18, while the self-description as poor and needy appears in Psalms 40:17. The pattern pairs a physical image of God leaning in with the speaker's acknowledged lack of power.
Why it lands — The petition rests entirely on need, not on righteousness or covenant entitlement. The reader is asked to see that the ground of the request is the speaker's own insufficiency.
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
A Prayer of David. Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
Cross-references
- Psalms 31:2 Incline Your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, the stronghold of my deliverance.
- Psalms 40:17 But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
- Daniel 9:18 Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion.
- Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Psalms 34:6 This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- James 1:9 The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
- James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- Isaiah 66:2 Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.
- Psalms 17:6 I call on You, O God, for You will answer me. Incline Your ear to me; hear my words.