The Meaning of Psalms 143:3 Explained

Psalms 143:3

KJV: For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.

YLT: For an enemy hath pursued my soul, He hath bruised to the earth my life, He hath caused me to dwell in dark places, As the dead of old.

Darby: For the enemy persecuteth my soul: he hath crushed my life down to the earth; he hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.

ASV: For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; He hath smitten my life down to the ground: He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For the enemy  hath persecuted  my soul;  he hath smitten  my life  down  to the ground;  he hath made me to dwell  in darkness,  as those that have been long  dead. 

What does Psalms 143:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 143:1-12 - The Cry Of The Thirsty Soul
This psalm falls into four stanzas of three verses each. Complaint, Psalms 143:1-3. Though the enemy has resorted to unwarrantable violence, David realized that his past had been by no means immaculate. The holiest have least confidence in themselves, Job 9:3; Philippians 3:7. Bernard of Clairvaux said: "So far from being able to answer for my sins, I cannot answer even for my righteousness." There is no judgment or condemnation for those who are in Christ, because they were judged in Him. Now God's justice is on our side, 1 John 1:9.
Depression, Psalms 143:4-6. Those capable of the sunny heights are capable of the lowest depths. Memory, meditation, and musing often lead to melancholy. But reach out after God. To thirst for Him is to have Him. To desire is to possess. Entreaty, Psalms 143:7-9. Hear me; cause me to hear; cause me to know; deliver me. Docility, Psalms 143:10-12 : We can trust ourselves absolutely to be led by God's Spirit, because He is good and He brings the soul out of trouble into the land of uprightness, Romans 8:14. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 143

1  David prays for favor in judgment
3  He complains of his grief
5  He strengthens his faith by meditation and prayer
7  He prays for grace
9  For deliverance
10  For sanctification
12  For destruction of his enemies

What do the individual words in Psalms 143:3 mean?

For has persecuted the enemy my soul He has crushed to the ground my life He has made me dwell in darkness Like dead those who have been long
כִּ֥י רָ֘דַ֤ף אוֹיֵ֨ב ׀ נַפְשִׁ֗י דִּכָּ֣א לָ֭אָרֶץ חַיָּתִ֑י הוֹשִׁיבַ֥נִי בְ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים כְּמֵתֵ֥י עוֹלָֽם

רָ֘דַ֤ף  has  persecuted 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָדַף  
Sense: to be behind, follow after, pursue, persecute, run after.
אוֹיֵ֨ב ׀  the  enemy 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: אֹיֵב  
Sense: (Qal) enemy.
נַפְשִׁ֗י  my  soul 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
דִּכָּ֣א  He  has  crushed 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּכָא  
Sense: to crush, be crushed, be contrite, be broken.
לָ֭אָרֶץ  to  the  ground 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
חַיָּתִ֑י  my  life 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
הוֹשִׁיבַ֥נִי  He  has  made  me  dwell 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בְ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים  in  darkness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַחְשָׁךְ  
Sense: dark place, darkness, secrecy.
כְּמֵתֵ֥י  Like  dead 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
עוֹלָֽם  those  who  have  been  long 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.