Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 143:3

"For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; He hath smitten my life down to the ground: He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead." — Psalms 143:3 (ASV)

This verse explains the previous verse. The affliction under which the psalmist suffers is evidence that God is bringing judgment for sin.

He has made ... — See Lamentations 3:6; and compare Psalms 88:5-6.

Long dead. — Literally, either dead of old, or dead for ever, depending on whether we take ‘ôlam to refer to past or future time. Septuagint, νεκροὺς αἰῶνος; Vulgate, mortuos sæculi.