Psalms 69:14 Meaning and Explanation
“Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →A repeated prayer is not empty when the need remains. After describing grief, public reproach, and unrelenting hostility, the speaker returns to the images of mire and waters first used at the beginning of the psalm. He asks God for deliverance that reaches both his inward danger and the people threatening him.
Psalms 69:14 asks God to rescue the psalmist from sinking, hostile enemies, and overwhelming danger. It renews the psalm's opening images as a focused appeal for God's preserving deliverance.
The Context of Psalms 69:14
Psalm 69 opens with waters entering the speaker's soul and deep mire where there is no standing. He is weary from crying and waiting, hated without a cause, and exposed to reproach for God's sake. Verses 10-12 describe fasting, sackcloth, and public mockery. In verse 13, the psalmist brings his prayer to the LORD and appeals to the multitude of God's mercy and the truth of God's salvation. Verse 14 follows immediately, restating the earlier watery danger. Verses 15-18 continue with requests that the flood, deep, and pit will not consume him and that God will draw near to redeem him.
What Does Psalms 69:14 Mean?
"Deliver me out of the mire" asks for rescue from a place that cannot support the sufferer. "Let me not sink" names the immediate danger, a continued descent from which he cannot save himself. The petition then identifies those who hate him and repeats the image of "deep waters." These clauses belong together. The enemies are real opponents in the psalm, and the waters and mire express the devastating power of the whole situation. The speaker asks God to act decisively, preserving him from collapse and bringing him beyond the reach of those who seek his harm. His language is urgent, concrete, and directed wholly toward God.
Verse 14 is a deliberate return to verses 1-2. The repeated words show that the first cry has not been forgotten after the account of reproach. In verse 13, the psalmist grounds his prayer in God's mercy and salvation; verse 14 specifies the rescue he seeks. Verses 15-18 expand the request by speaking of the waterflood, the deep, the pit, God's lovingkindness, tender mercies, nearness, and redemption. The chapter gives suffering a full voice, then repeatedly places it before the Lord. This movement teaches us that faithful prayer may revisit the same need as often as the danger presses upon us.
The later lines of Psalm 69 are closely associated with Jesus' suffering, especially the reproach of verse 9 and the vinegar of verse 21. The request in verse 14 belongs to the same lament, though the New Testament does not quote it directly. Jesus prayed in the shadow of betrayal, rejection, and death, entrusting himself to the Father. God did not abandon him to death, and the resurrection declares God's victory over the powers that seemed to overwhelm him. Therefore this prayer may be offered with hope in the God who draws near, redeems, and raises the afflicted.
Bible Verses Related to Psalms 69:14
“I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.”
- Psalm 69:2
“Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.”
- Psalm 69:15
“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
- Psalm 40:2
“Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”
- Acts 2:24
Where Psalms 69:14 Echoes in Scripture
Acts 2:24 proclaims that God raised Jesus from death, declaring that it was not possible for him to remain held by it. This is a strong canonical echo of Psalms 69:14's plea against sinking and being swallowed by overwhelming danger. The verse does not quote Psalm 69, yet it shows God's saving power reaching beyond the deepest threat.
How to Apply Psalms 69:14 Today
When trouble repeats, our prayer can repeat too. We can name the particular mire: a broken relationship, an accusation, grief, fear, debt, illness, temptation, or danger that seems stronger than our footing. The verse also invites practical wisdom around hostile situations. Seeking protection, counsel, reconciliation where possible, or help from trustworthy people can be part of receiving God's deliverance. As we pray for ourselves, we can remember people who are being pressed down by hatred or circumstances beyond their strength and ask God to set them in a safe place.
Reflection & Prayer
What deep water or hostile pressure needs to be named again before God, without shame for its persistence? Where might God be inviting us to become a steady presence for someone else? Prayer: Deliver us, O God, from all that pulls us downward. Draw near in thy mercy, keep us from sinking, and lead us into thy saving care.