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Psalm 141:7

“As when one plows and breaks up the earth, our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.”

5Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is always against evil deeds.
6Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken.
7“As when one plows and breaks up the earth, our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.”
8For my eyes are on you, LORD, the Lord. I take refuge in you. Don’t leave my soul destitute.
9Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
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← Psalm 141:6Psalm 141:8 →
Notice

Bones scattered like broken earth make death feel stark and bodily, within a prayer that still looks to God for refuge.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What does the comparison between scattered bones and plowed earth make you picture?

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What would you want to bring before God after reading this image of death?

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What do you notice in the move from scattered bones to seeking refuge in verse 8?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

11 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Ezekiel 37:2He caused me to pass by them all around; and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and behold, they were very dry.Ezekiel surveys a valley full of dry remains; Psalm 141 pictures bones scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
Psalm 53:5There they were in great fear, where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, because God has …Both describe scattered bones; Psalm 53 names God as the one who scatters an enemy’s bones.
Romans 8:36Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”Scattered bones and sheep marked for slaughter both portray people facing death through stark, bodily images.
Psalm 129:3The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long.Both use plowing to portray bodily devastation: earth broken apart in Psalm 141, a back furrowed in Psalm 129.
Psalm 44:22Yes, for your sake we are killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.Both speak of death in a shared voice, though Psalm 44 states that the suffering is for God’s sake.
Revelation 11:8–9Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.Both depict human remains exposed: bones at the mouth of Sheol and dead bodies in a city street.
Ezekiel 37:11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. We are completely …Both describe a group’s plight through its bones: scattered in Psalm 141, dried up alongside lost hope in Ezekiel.
Psalm 79:3They have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem. There was no one to bury them.Scattered bones and blood shed around Jerusalem share a picture of death without the shelter of a burial.
1 Samuel 22:18–19The king said to Doeg, “Turn and attack the priests!” Doeg the Edomite turned, and he attacked the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five people who …Both contain images of human devastation, but Psalm 141 does not identify its scattered bones with the priests Doeg killed.
2 Corinthians 1:9Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,Both passages place death near dependence on God: refuge in the psalm’s next verse, trust in the God who raises the dead.
Hebrews 11:37They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, …Psalm 141 pictures bones scattered like broken earth; Hebrews names forms of violent death and mistreatment.
Where this verse fits

Death and what comes after. grief. injustice and anger.

What the Bible says about death →What the Bible says about grief →What the Bible says about anger →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read Psalm 141:7–8 aloud, pausing between the verses

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Encouragement

The shattered scene receives no quick explanation. In the next verse, the speaker looks to the Lord for refuge while the danger remains unresolved.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 141:7. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 141 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).