Psalm 13 asks the question every suffering person has asked: “How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end? how long dost thou turn away thy face from me?” In six short verses it moves from desolation to trust: “But I have trusted in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.” In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 12. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 13 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, a psalm for David. How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end? how long dost thou turn away thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsels in my soul, sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider, and hear me, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes that I never sleep in death:
Lest at any time my enemy say: I have prevailed against him. They that trouble me will rejoice when I am moved:
But I have trusted in thy mercy. My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation: I will sing to the Lord, who giveth me good things: yea I will sing to the name of the Lord the most high.
Psalm 13 or Psalm 12?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 12 is Psalm 13 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Usquequo, Domine, oblivisceris me in finem. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- “How long?” four times: the psalm gives honest words to prolonged suffering, depression and waiting.
- God seems absent: feeling forgotten by God is part of the life of faith, as many saints knew.
- “Enlighten my eyes that I never sleep in death”: a plea for life and light.
- The turn to trust: “But I have trusted in thy mercy.” Faith chooses to trust even before feelings change.
- Joy ahead: “I will sing to the Lord, who giveth me good things.”
How the Church uses Psalm 13
- In the Liturgy of the Hours.
- In times of depression, long illness or spiritual dryness, as a prayer that is honest about pain. See psalms for comfort and psalms for anxiety.
A prayer with Psalm 13
Written for this page:
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
Look at me and answer me; give light to my eyes.
Even when I cannot feel you near, I trust in your mercy.
My heart will rejoice in your salvation, and I will sing to you, for you have been good to me. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What is Psalm 13 about?
A cry of someone who feels forgotten by God for a long time, ending in trust and praise.
Is it wrong to ask God “How long?”
No. The psalms teach us to bring every feeling to God, including impatience and grief, and to keep trusting.
More psalms and prayers
- Psalm 44 (Awake, O Lord!)
- Psalm 10 (Why, Lord, do you stand far off?)
- Psalm 22
- Psalm 42
- Psalms for comfort
- Psalms for anxiety
- How many psalms are there?
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 12 (13), Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.