The big picture
Psalms 13 opens in verse 1 with “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD ? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 3 with “Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;”, and closes in verse 6 with “I will sing unto the LORD , because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” Repeated or prominent terms include long, LORD, enemy, heart, lest. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Psalms · King James Version · 6Psalms 13:1-6
1–6: How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD ? for ever? how long wilt thou hide…
Psalms 13:1–6 opens with “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD ? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” and reaches “I will sing unto the LORD , because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Psalms 13 develops its own movement around long, LORD, enemy, heart, lest, with particular weight carried by long, LORD, enemy.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 2 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
Psalms 13:1-6
King James Version1How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD ? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
3Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6I will sing unto the LORD , because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Psalms 13:1 begins with “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD ? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?”
Where the chapter turns
Psalms 13:2 forms a natural hinge: “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?”
The final note
Psalms 13:6 leaves the reader with “I will sing unto the LORD , because he hath dealt bountifully with me.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words long, LORD, enemy, heart, lest, rejoice help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
How does Abram pursue peace?
He names their kinship and offers a practical separation without insisting on first choice.
What can Lot see that Abram cannot yet possess?
Lot sees fertile land; Abram receives a promise of land and descendants still to come.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
- hath
- has
- lest
- so that something does not happen
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.