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Psalm 9:13
Have mercy on me, LORD. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death,
11Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion, and declare among the people what he has done.
12For he who avenges blood remembers them. He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.
13Have mercy on me, LORD. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death,
14that I may show all of your praise. I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion.
15The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
Notice
The gates of death make this plea urgent: someone suffering hatred asks YHWH to see the harm and show mercy where life itself is threatened.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does asking God to see affliction express that asking for escape alone might leave unsaid?
Write on thisWhat, if anything, makes the plea for mercy at the gates of death hard for you to pray?
Write on thisConnect
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
Matthew 16:18I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.Both use gates for death’s domain: the psalm asks for rescue, while Jesus says Hades will not prevail against his assembly.
Job 38:17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?Both name the gates of death, with the psalm seeking rescue and Job facing a question about the limits of his knowledge.
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.Psalm 9 asks God to see affliction; Psalm 31 rejoices that God has seen it.
Psalm 107:18Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.Both describe people near the gates of death, though Psalm 107 names loss of appetite rather than hatred.
Psalm 30:3LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.Psalm 9 asks the LORD to lift the sufferer from death; Psalm 30 thanks him for keeping the speaker alive.
Psalm 119:153Consider my affliction, and deliver me, for I don’t forget your law.Both prayers ask God to attend to affliction and deliver the person who is suffering.
Isaiah 38:10I said, “In the middle of my life I go into the gates of Sheol. I am deprived of the residue of my years.”Both portray approaching death through gates, with Isaiah’s speaker grieving the loss of years still hoped for.
John 5:14Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”The link is limited to bodily peril: the psalm seeks rescue from death, while Jesus addresses someone made well and warns against sin.
Nehemiah 9:32Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness, don’t let all the travail seem little before you …Both ask God to take suffering into account, whether one person’s affliction or the long travail of a people.
Lamentations 1:9Her filthiness was in her skirts. She didn’t remember her latter end. Therefore she has come down astoundingly. She has no comforter. “See, LORD, my …Both ask the LORD to see affliction and name hostile people as part of the distress.
Lamentations 1:11All her people sigh. They seek bread. They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh their soul. “Look, LORD, and see, for I have become despised.”Both appeal to the LORD to look and see suffering, with Lamentations describing hunger and contempt.
John 2:6Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews’ way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece.No clear shared thread appears in these lines: John describes stone water pots, while the psalm pleads for mercy amid affliction.
Where this verse fits
Illness or diagnosis. injustice and anger. death and what comes after.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The plea leaves the danger unresolved. Asking God to see your suffering belongs within faith; the surrounding song says he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 9:13. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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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).