Memorize Psalm 142:4-5

Young's Literal Translation

Looking on the right hand — and seeing, And I have none recognizing; Perished hath refuge from me, There is none inquiring for my soul. I have cried unto thee, O Jehovah, I have said, 'Thou [art] my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.'

Psalm 142:4-5, Young's Literal Translation

47 words · a five-day project, a phrase or two at a time ·

Start memorizing Psalm 142:4-5 →

Free, no account, nothing to install. The path opens with this verse already in it. Or print it: a copywork sheet to write it out by hand, a sheet of wallet cards, take-home slips or bulletin cards for a church's verse of the week, each with a code back to this page.

The five steps

  1. Meet the verse. Hear it read aloud, then echo it phrase by phrase, with a small hand motion for each phrase.
  2. Fill the gaps. About a third of the words become blanks. Say it out loud, supplying them; peek if you need to, trying is the point.
  3. Half hidden. Most of the words are gone now. Say it once more at bedtime; sleep locks it in overnight.
  4. First letters. Every word reduced to its first letter. Recite it with only those to guide you.
  5. All by yourself. Nothing but the reference. One confident recite, then it goes into your Verse Book to come back for review.

Each step makes a fine "tonight's step" spread over five days, and nothing is locked: the numbered dots jump anywhere. How to memorize Bible verses walks through the whole method.

Why it works

Three of the most replicated findings in learning science: retrieval practice (pulling a word from memory strengthens it more than rereading it), spacing (short tries on separate days beat one long one), and sleep (a verse said at bedtime is consolidated overnight). The blanks grow in stages so that every try is hard enough to count and never so hard that you give up.

Psalm 142:4-5 in context

Psalm 142 pours an honest complaint from isolation, danger, and apparent abandonment. With no human refuge visible, the cave prayer names God as portion and anticipates release into a grateful community.

Read Psalm 142:4-5 in its chapter · Psalm 142, in the Young's Literal Translation.

Verses that keep it company

Psalm 142:4-5 is on Bible verses for loneliness.

In other translations

BSB · Berean Standard BibleKJV · King James VersionNET · New English TranslationWEB · World English BibleESV · English Standard VersionASV · American Standard (1901)

The reference is the same in every one; the path lets you switch mid-way, and pasting any wording you like works too.