Psalms 143:3

Certainly ¹  my enemies ²  chase me. They smash me into the ground. ³  They force me to live ⁴  in dark regions, ⁵  like those who have been dead for ages.

2Sa 2:22; 2Sa 18:11; Ps 7:1,2; Ps 7:5; Ps 17:9-13; Ps 31:12,13; Ps 35:4; Ps 54:3; Ps 88:4-6; Ps 142:6; Eze 37:11

¹ tn Or “for.”

² tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).

³ tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”

⁴ tn Or “sit.”

⁵ sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).