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Easter Season · A Ninth Reading Easter Vigil · Year A

Psalm 143

My Soul Thirsts for You

April 5, 2026

David in Prayer, Jean Fouquet
David in Prayer, Jean Fouquet, c. 1452–1460British Library, London
David in armour kneels in a broad landscape between the armies and the fallen, praying to God, who appears in a ring of red cherubim above.Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness; answer me in your righteousness.Jean FouquetThe greatest French painter of the 1400s, court painter to Charles VII and Louis XI, who brought Italian perspective to French illumination.British Library, LondonThe British Library in London, the national library of the United Kingdom.British Library, London
Revised Common Lectionary
Old TestamentEzek. 37:1-14Ez 37:1-14
PsalterPs. 143Ps 143

Overview & Insights

“My soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” (Psalm 143:6)

This individual prayer psalm is highly formulaic, that is, it consists of stock phrases repeated elsewhere in the Psalms (v. 3 // 7:5; Lam. 3:6; v. 4 // 77:3; 142:3; vv. 5–6 // 77:2, 5, 12; v. 6 // 63:1; v. 7 // 69:17; 88:4, 14; 102:2; v. 8 // 90:14; in general cf. Pss. 25; 86; further parallels listed in Culley, Oral Formulaic Language , p. 107). Yet it reflects an intimacy with God that is strikingly singular among the psalms.

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Commentary

Psalm 143 (Hope for the Persecuted Soul)Ps 143 (Hope for the Persecuted Soul) Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse by verse study of David's plea for mercy and morning deliverance, the last penitential psalm.

Psalm 143:1 Commentaries (BibleHub)Ps 143:1 Commentaries (BibleHub) BibleHub

Parallel classic commentaries assembled verse by verse across the whole psalm.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 143 (Sefaria)Ps 143 (Sefaria) Sefaria

The Hebrew psalm with English alongside for study of its plea for the Lord's steadfast love.

Psalm 143:1 Interlinear (BibleHub)Ps 143:1 Interlinear (BibleHub) BibleHub

Word by word Hebrew interlinear with parsing and Strong's numbers for the opening prayer.

The Church Fathers

Psalms 143 (Catena Bible)Ps 143 (Catena Bible) Catena

Early and medieval commentary on the psalm gathered verse by verse.

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