Psalms 143 · Verse 6

Psalms 143:6

I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
Psalms 143:6, King James Version

Psalms 143:6 in other translations

BSBI stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
WEBI spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.
ASVI spread forth my hands unto thee: My soul thirsteth after thee, as a weary land. [Selah
YLTI have spread forth my hands unto Thee, My soul is as a weary land for Thee. Selah.
DARBYI stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul, as a parched land, thirsteth after thee. Selah.
BBEMy hands are stretched out to you: my soul is turned to you, like a land in need of water. (Selah.)
WebsterI stretch forth my hands to thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

What does Psalms 143:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 143:5-6

5-6. The distress is aggravated by the contrast of former comfort (Psa 22:3-5), for whose return he longs. a thirsty land--which needs rain, as did his spirit God's gracious visits (Psa 28:1; 89:17).

Read the full comment on Psalms 143:5-6 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 I stretch forth my hands - This is a natural action. All in distress, or under the influence of eager desire, naturally extend their hands and arms, as if to catch at help and obtain succor. As a thirsty land - Parched and burned by the sun, longs for rain, so does my thirsty soul for the living God.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 143:1-6

We have no righteousness of our own to plead, therefore must plead God's righteousness, and the word of promise which he has freely given us, and caused us to hope in. David, before he prays for the removal of his trouble, prays for the pardon of his sin, and depends upon mercy alone for it. He bemoans the weight upon his mind from outward troubles. But he looks back, and remembers God's former appearance for his…

Read the full comment on Psalms 143:1-6 →

Psalms 143:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

פֵּרַ֣שְׂתִּיpe.Ras.tiI have spread outH6566
יָדַ֣יya.Daihands myH3027
אֵלֶ֑יךָ'e.Lei.khato youH413
נַפְשִׁ֓י\׀naf.Shithroat myH5315
כְּאֶֽרֶץ\־ke.'e.retz-like a landH776
עֲיֵפָ֖ה'a.ye.FahexhaustedH5889
לְךָ֣le.Kha[is] to you
סֶֽלָה\׃Se.lahSelahH5542

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 143:6

  • Job 11:13

    If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

  • Psalms 63:1

    A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

  • Psalms 88:9

    Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

  • Psalms 84:2

    My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

  • Psalms 42:1-2

    To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

  • Psalms 44:20

    If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

  • Isaiah 26:8-9

    Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

  • Isaiah 35:7

    And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

  • John 7:37

    In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
stretch forth.
44:20; 88:9; Job 11:13
my soul.
42:1,2; 63:1; 84:2; Isa 26:8,9; 35:7; Joh 7:37

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Psalms 143:5

    I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.

  • Psalms 143:6

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

  • Psalms 143:7

    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.

Read all of Psalms 143

Psalms 143:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Extendí mis manos á ti; mi alma á ti como la tierra sedienta. (Selah.)
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
J’étends mes mains vers toi; mon âme, comme une terre altérée, a soif de toi. Sélah.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Zu dir breite ich meine Hände aus; gleich einem lechzenden Lande lechzt meine Seele nach dir.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Fulgura coruscationem, et dissipabis eos; emitte sagittas tuas, et conturbabis eos.