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Psalm 142:3
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my route. On the path in which I walk, they have hidden a snare for me.
1A contemplation by David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. I cry with my voice to the LORD. With my voice, I ask the LORD for mercy.
2I pour out my complaint before him. I tell him my troubles.
3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my route. On the path in which I walk, they have hidden a snare for me.
4Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me. Refuge has fled from me. No one cares for my soul.
5I cried to you, LORD. I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
Notice
A hidden snare makes David’s path dangerous even as he tells God, “you knew my route,” leaving distress and trust in the same prayer.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What part of your present path would you name beside David’s words, “you knew my route”?
Write on thisHow does the hidden snare shape your reading of David’s trust in God’s knowledge?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 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
Psalm 1:6For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.Both passages speak of the LORD knowing a person’s way, though Psalm 142 describes danger along that path.
Psalm 61:2From the end of the earth, I will call to you when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.Both prayers speak from an overwhelmed heart or spirit and address God in the midst of that distress.
Exodus 3:7The LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their …God’s knowledge reaches people under threat: David on his trapped path and Israel suffering under taskmasters in Egypt.
Psalm 31:7I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness, for you have seen my affliction. You have known my soul in adversities.Both speakers address God as one who knows their distress, whether described as adversities or an overwhelmed spirit.
Psalm 140:5The proud have hidden a snare for me, they have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me. Selah.Both prayers describe enemies hiding a snare along the speaker’s path, making the threat deliberate and concealed.
Mark 14:33–36He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be greatly troubled and distressed.David describes an overwhelmed spirit, while Mark describes Jesus as troubled and distressed; both texts name severe inward distress.
Jeremiah 18:22Let a cry be heard from their houses when you bring a troop suddenly on them; for they have dug a pit to take me and hidden snares for my feet.Both speakers report hidden snares set against them; Jeremiah also asks for judgment against those who laid the traps.
Hosea 13:5I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.Both passages speak of God knowing someone amid hardship, whether on a dangerous path or in a drought-stricken wilderness.
Job 23:10But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I will come out like gold.David and Job both affirm that God knows the way they take while they are enduring distress.
John 5:6When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be made well?”Both texts describe suffering known to God: David’s overwhelmed condition and route, and the man’s long illness known to Jesus.
Matthew 22:15Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.David describes a hidden snare, while the Pharisees plan to entrap Jesus through his speech.
Genesis 27:41Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I …Both passages describe planned harm against another person: a hidden snare for David and Esau’s intent to kill Jacob.
Where this verse fits
Anxiety or panic. fear for the future. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
David’s prayer leaves the snare in view. Being overwhelmed does not put your path beyond God’s knowledge; the danger is real, and God knows the route.
Now put it in your words.
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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).