Psalms 69:1
Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
Study Note
Study Note
The desperate cry 'save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul' opens one of the New Testament's most frequently cited psalms — referenced in John 2:17 (zeal for God's house), John 15:25 (hated without cause), Matthew 27:34/48 (vinegar), Romans 11:9-10 (table become a snare), and Romans 15:3 (bearing reproaches). The 'deep waters' imagery evokes the primordial chaos (tehom) of Genesis 1:2 and the Jonah narrative, placing the psalmist's suffering within the cosmic vocabulary of death and divine absence. Early Christian interpreters read the psalm as a direct messianic prophecy precisely because of its dense New Testament citations, making it a primary source for the theology of Christ's sufferings. The opening cry of drowning became the standard metaphor for overwhelming distress in Christian spiritual vocabulary.
Other Translations
Save me, O God; For the waters are come in unto my soul.
To the Overseer. --`On the Lilies,' by David. Save me, O God, for come have waters unto the soul.
Be my saviour, O God; because the waters have come in, even to my neck.
Cross References
Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely …
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my …
O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us …
I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow …
Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, …
Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her …
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine …