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Psalm 142 · a question people ask

"No one cares for my soul" (142:4). Is the psalmist saying God doesn't care either?

In the text

The psalm doesn't say that of God. The psalm is a cry to the LORD from its first line: "I cry with my voice to the LORD" (142:1). The line comes in the same verse as "Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me" (142:4): the one missing is someone at his right. One verse before it, he says to the LORD, "you knew my route" (142:3). One verse after it, he says, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living" (142:5). The psalm doesn't take back "No one cares for my soul", and it doesn't explain it. It keeps both, one verse apart, and these notes do the same.

The verses

“A 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.”
Psalm 142:1 · World English Bible
“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. Look 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. I cried to you, LORD. I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.””
Psalm 142:3-5 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 142

Psalm 142: You are my refuge

In Psalm 142, the refuge that "has fled" (142:4) and the refuge the psalmist names in the LORD, "You are my refuge" (142:5), are two different Hebrew words, manos and machseh, one verse apart. And the cry of 142:1 comes back in 142:5 in the same Hebrew verb.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions