Psalms / Chapter 71

Psalms 71

24 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

An elderly psalmist pleads for God's continued protection and deliverance in old age. Enemies are circling, interpreting his frailty as evidence that God has abandoned him. The psalm is a sustained cry of trust from someone who has known God since birth and now refuses to believe the final chapter will be one of abandonment. It draws heavily on Psalm 31 and Psalm 22, weaving earlier language into a new plea shaped by the particular vulnerability of aging.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This is one of the few psalms that explicitly addresses the experience of growing old. The psalmist does not pretend that age has not diminished him — he acknowledges that his strength is failing and his enemies see opportunity. But the theological argument is powerful: the God who sustained him from the womb (verse 6), who taught him from youth (verse 17), cannot logically abandon him now. The psalm turns aging itself into a theological argument. If God's faithfulness is real, it must extend to the end. The repeated phrase 'do not cast me off' (al-tashlikeni) carries the raw urgency of someone who has watched contemporaries die alone and fears the same fate.

Translation Friction

Psalm 71 has no superscription in the Hebrew text, which is unusual in Book II of the Psalter. The LXX attributes it to David and adds a note about the sons of Jonadab and the first captives. Its heavy borrowing from Psalm 31 and Psalm 22 has led some scholars to view it as a mosaic psalm — a composition assembled from existing psalmic language. This does not diminish its theological force; it may amplify it, as the psalmist deliberately reaches for the tradition's deepest language of trust in his hour of need.

Connections

Verses 1-3 closely parallel Psalm 31:2-4 (in Hebrew versification). The phrase 'from my mother's womb' (mi-beten immi) in verse 6 echoes Psalm 22:10-11, connecting this psalm to the larger tradition of lifelong divine care. The commitment to declare God's righteousness 'all day long' (kol hayyom) in verse 24 connects to the Psalter's broader theology of perpetual praise. The psalm's placement after Psalm 70 (a brief cry for help) creates a natural expansion — the short plea becomes a sustained meditation.

Psalms 71:1

בְּךָ֣ יְ֭הוָה חָסִ֑יתִי אַל־אֵב֥וֹשָׁה לְעוֹלָֽם׃

In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge — let me never be put to shame.

KJV In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חָסִיתִי chasiti
"I have taken refuge" — to seek refuge, to take shelter, to trust for protection

From chasah, a verb that appears frequently in the Psalms to describe the act of fleeing to God as a protective shelter. The image is concrete — a person running to a fortress or hiding in the shadow of a rock. It implies both vulnerability and active choice.

Translator Notes

  1. The near-verbatim overlap with Psalm 31:2 is intentional. The psalmist is quoting established liturgical language — reaching for words that have already been tested and proven in Israel's worship.
Psalms 71:2

בְּצִדְקָתְךָ֣ תַּצִּילֵ֣נִי וּתְפַלְּטֵ֑נִי הַטֵּ֥ה אֵלַ֥י אׇ֝זְנְךָ֗ וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃

In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; turn Your ear toward me and save me.

KJV Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

צִדְקָה tsidqah
"righteousness" — righteousness, justice, vindication, saving acts, right order

In the Psalms, God's tsidqah is not abstract moral perfection but active intervention on behalf of those who are in the right. To pray 'in Your righteousness deliver me' is to say: Your own character requires You to act.

Translator Notes

  1. The verb palat ('to rescue, to cause to escape') implies being pulled out of a tight, dangerous space — the image is of extraction from a trap or a collapsing structure.
Psalms 71:3

הֱיֵ֤ה לִ֨י ׀ לְצ֣וּר מָ֭עוֹן לָב֣וֹא תָמִ֑יד צִוִּ֥יתָ לְ֝הוֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי כִּֽי־סַלְעִ֥י וּמְצוּדָתִ֗י אָֽתָּה׃

Be for me a rock of refuge, a stronghold to enter continually. You have commanded my deliverance, for You are my rock and my fortress.

KJV Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Psalm 31:3 reads tsur maoz ('rock of strength') while this verse has tsur maon ('rock of refuge/habitation'). The one-letter difference (zayin vs. nun) may reflect textual variation, but the Masoretic text preserves maon, emphasizing dwelling rather than mere strength.
Psalms 71:4

אֱ‍ֽלֹהַ֗י פַּ֭לְּטֵנִי מִיַּ֣ד רָשָׁ֑ע מִ֝כַּ֗ף מְעַוֵּ֥ל וְחוֹמֵֽץ׃

My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.

KJV Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word chomets ('ruthless, oppressive') literally means 'one who is sour, leavened' — the image is of someone whose character has fermented into cruelty. The three terms — rasha ('wicked'), me-avvel ('unjust'), and chomets ('ruthless') — paint a portrait of the psalmist's enemies as morally corrupt at every level.
Psalms 71:5

כִּֽי־אַתָּ֣ה תִקְוָתִ֑י אֲדֹנָ֥י יְ֝הוִ֗ה מִבְטַחִ֥י מִנְּעוּרָֽי׃

For You are my hope, Lord GOD, my trust since my youth.

KJV For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The pairing of Adonai YHVH ('Lord GOD') is relatively rare in the Psalms and signals particular solemnity. The psalmist addresses God by His covenant name combined with the title of sovereignty.
Psalms 71:6

עָ֘לֶ֤יךָ ׀ נִסְמַ֣כְתִּי מִבֶּ֗טֶן מִמְּעֵ֣י אִ֭מִּי אַתָּ֣ה גוֹזִ֑י בְּ֝ךָ֗ תְהִלָּתִ֥י תָמִֽיד׃

On You I have leaned from the womb; from my mother's body You drew me out. My praise is continually of You.

KJV By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb gazah is rare and debated. Some read it as 'my portion' (from a different root), but the context of birth imagery (beten, me'ei immi) strongly supports the meaning 'the one who cut me free' — referring to the severing of the umbilical cord at birth. This reading appears in the LXX (skepastes mou, 'my protector') by interpretive paraphrase.
Psalms 71:7

כְּ֭מוֹפֵת הָיִ֣יתִי לְרַבִּ֑ים וְאַתָּ֖ה מַחֲסִי־עֹֽז׃

I have become a sign to many, but You are my strong refuge.

KJV I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word mofet appears in Exodus for the plagues (signs and wonders) and in Deuteronomy 28:46 for the curses that will become 'a sign and a wonder.' The psalmist's situation has become publicly visible and is being interpreted by observers — the question is whether they are reading it correctly.
Psalms 71:8

יִמָּ֣לֵא פִ֭י תְּהִלָּתֶ֑ךָ כׇּל־הַ֝יּ֗וֹם תִּפְאַרְתֶּֽךָ׃

Let my mouth be filled with Your praise, all day long with Your splendor.

KJV Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The parallelism pairs tehillateka ('Your praise') with tif'artteka ('Your splendor, glory, beauty'). Praise here is not merely thanksgiving but declaration of God's magnificent character. The phrase kol hayyom ('all day long') echoes verse 24 and creates a frame of perpetual worship.
Psalms 71:9

אַל־תַּשְׁלִיכֵ֥נִי לְעֵ֣ת זִקְנָ֑ה כִּכְל֥וֹת כֹּ֝חִ֗י אַֽל־תַּעַזְבֵֽנִי׃

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; when my strength is spent, do not abandon me.

KJV Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

זִקְנָה ziqnah
"old age" — old age, elderhood, the condition of being aged

From zaqen ('to be old, to grow old'). In a culture that honored elders (Leviticus 19:32), the fear of being cast off in old age represents a profound social and theological crisis — it implies that the covenant of care has been broken.

Translator Notes

  1. This verse has no parallel in Psalm 31, confirming that Psalm 71 is not merely a copy but an original composition shaped by the experience of aging. The plea against abandonment in old age is theologically distinctive in the Psalter.
Psalms 71:10

כִּֽי־אָמְר֣וּ א֭וֹיְבַי לִ֑י וְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י נַ֝פְשִׁ֗י נוֹעֲצ֥וּ יַחְדָּֽו׃

For my enemies speak against me, and those who watch for my life conspire together,

KJV For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase shomrei nafshi ('those who watch for my life') describes predators watching for the moment of vulnerability. They are not merely hostile; they are strategic, waiting for the right moment to strike — and old age provides it.
Psalms 71:11

לֵ֭אמֹר אֱלֹהִ֣ים עֲזָב֑וֹ רִ֝דְפ֗וּ וְתִפְשׂ֥וּהוּ כִּי־אֵ֥ין מַצִּֽיל׃

saying, 'God has abandoned him. Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.'

KJV Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The enemies' statement mirrors the taunt against the sufferer in Psalm 22:9 and Psalm 3:3 — the recurring claim that God has withdrawn. The psalmist must contend not only with his enemies but with their theology.
Psalms 71:12

אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים אַל־תִּרְחַ֥ק מִמֶּ֑נִּי אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי חֽוּשָׁה׃

O God, do not be far from me; my God, hurry to help me!

KJV O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb chushah ('hurry, hasten') conveys desperation — the situation is urgent and delay could be fatal. This verse echoes Psalm 22:12 and 22:20, reinforcing the literary connections between these psalms.
Psalms 71:13

יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ יִ֭כְלוּ שׂוֹטְנֵ֣י נַפְשִׁ֑י יַֽעֲט֥וּ חֶ֝רְפָּ֗ה וּכְלִמָּ֥ה מְבַקְשֵׁ֥י רָעָתִֽי׃

Let those who accuse my life be shamed and consumed; let those who seek my ruin be wrapped in disgrace and humiliation.

KJV Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb ya'atu ('let them be wrapped, clothed') uses clothing imagery for shame — disgrace becomes a garment that covers them completely. The psalmist asks that the enemies' own weapon (public shame) be turned back upon them.
Psalms 71:14

וַאֲנִ֗י תָּ֭מִיד אֲיַחֵ֑ל וְ֝הוֹסַפְתִּ֗י עַל־כׇּל־תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃

But I — I will hope continually, and I will add still more to all Your praise.

KJV But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb yachal ('to hope, to wait') in the Psalms always implies patient endurance under pressure — not passive optimism but active, stubborn trust maintained against contrary evidence.
Psalms 71:15

פִּ֗י יְסַפֵּ֣ר צִ֭דְקָתְךָ כׇּל־הַיּ֣וֹם תְּשׁוּעָתֶ֑ךָ כִּ֥י לֹ֝֗א יָדַ֥עְתִּי סְפֹרֽוֹת׃

My mouth will declare Your righteousness, all day long Your salvation, for I cannot count them.

KJV My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word seforot ('numbers, reckonings') is rare and may also carry the sense of 'literary compositions' — the psalmist may be saying not only that he cannot count God's acts but that he lacks the literary skill to do them justice.
Psalms 71:16

אָ֭בוֹא בִּגְבֻר֣וֹת אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֑ה אַזְכִּ֖יר צִדְקָתְךָ֣ לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃

I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will declare Your righteousness — Yours alone.

KJV I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase gevurot Adonai YHVH ('mighty deeds of the Lord GOD') refers to God's powerful acts in history — not abstract power but demonstrated intervention. The emphasis levaddeka ('Yours alone') is exclusive: the psalmist credits no one else, no other god, no human agency.
Psalms 71:17

אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים לִמַּדְתַּ֥נִי מִנְּעוּרָ֑י וְעַד־הֵ֝֗נָּה אַגִּ֥יד נִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ׃

O God, You have taught me from my youth, and until now I have declared Your wonders.

KJV O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word nifl'ot ('wonders') refers to God's extraordinary, incomprehensible acts — the same word used for the Exodus miracles. The psalmist's personal experience of God is framed in the same language as Israel's national experience.
Psalms 71:18

וְגַ֤ם עַד־זִקְנָ֨ה ׀ וְשֵׂיבָ֗ה אֱלֹהִ֥ים אַֽל־תַּעַזְבֵ֑נִי עַד־אַגִּ֥יד זְ֝רוֹעֲךָ֗ לְד֣וֹר לְכׇל־יָבֹ֥וא גְּבוּרָתֶֽךָ׃

And even to old age and gray hair, O God, do not abandon me, until I declare Your arm to a generation, Your power to all who are yet to come.

KJV Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

זְרוֹעַ zero'a
"arm" — arm, strength, power, might — especially God's intervening power in history

The 'arm of the LORD' is one of the Hebrew Bible's most important metaphors for divine action. It appears in the Exodus narrative (Exodus 6:6), in the prophets (Isaiah 53:1), and throughout the Psalms. It means power applied — not potential but enacted.

Translator Notes

  1. The argument that God should preserve the psalmist for the sake of future testimony is a recurring motif in the Psalms (cf. Psalm 6:6, 30:10, 88:11-13). The dead cannot praise God — therefore God has a vested interest in keeping His worshipers alive.
Psalms 71:19

וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥ אֱלֹהִ֗ים עַד־מָ֫ר֥וֹם אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂ֥יתָ גְדֹל֑וֹת אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים מִ֣י כָמֽוֹךָ׃

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heights; You who have done great things — O God, who is like You?

KJV Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase mi kamokha is a declaration of incomparability that runs through Israel's worship from the Exodus to the Psalter. It is not philosophical monotheism but experiential — no other power has done what this God has done.
Psalms 71:20

אֲשֶׁ֤ר הִרְאִיתַ֨נוּ ׀ צָר֥וֹת רַבּ֗וֹת וְרָ֫ע֥וֹת תָּ֭שׁוּב תְּחַיֵּ֑נוּ וּמִתְּהֹמ֥וֹת הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ תָּשׁ֥וּב תַּעֲלֵֽנוּ׃

You who have made us see many and bitter troubles will revive us again, and from the depths of the earth You will bring us up again.

KJV Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Qere/Ketiv variation between singular and plural pronouns in this verse reflects textual uncertainty about whether the psalm is purely individual or has been adapted for communal use. The Masoretic Qere reads plural ('us'), suggesting liturgical adaptation.
Psalms 71:21

תֶּ֣רֶב גְּדֻלָּתִ֑י וְ֝תִסֹּ֗ב תְּנַחֲמֵֽנִי׃

You will increase my honor and turn to comfort me.

KJV Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word gedullatai ('my greatness, my honor, my dignity') is significant for an elderly person whose enemies have declared him abandoned. God will not merely rescue him — God will restore his standing. The verb tissov ('You will turn around') suggests God turning back toward the psalmist with comfort after a season of apparent distance.
Psalms 71:22

גַּם־אֲנִ֤י ׀ אוֹדְךָ֣ בִכְלִי־נֶ֭בֶל אֲמִתְּךָ֗ אֱלֹהָ֑י אֲזַמְּרָ֥ה לְ֝ךָ֗ בְכִנּ֥וֹר קְד֣וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

I also will praise You with the harp for Your faithfulness, my God. I will make music to You with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

KJV I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל Qedosh Yisrael
"Holy One of Israel" — the set-apart one, the sacred one; God in His distinctive separateness from all creation

This title emphasizes God's otherness — His radical distinction from everything created. In Isaiah, it often appears in contexts of both judgment and redemption. Its use here connects the psalmist's personal experience to Israel's prophetic tradition.

Translator Notes

  1. The nevel was a larger stringed instrument, possibly a type of angular harp, while the kinnor was the smaller lyre associated with David (1 Samuel 16:23). Together they represent full musical worship — the psalmist's response to deliverance will be public and artistic.
Psalms 71:23

תְּרַנֵּ֣נָּה שְׂ֭פָתַי כִּ֣י אֲזַמְּרָה־לָּ֑ךְ וְ֝נַפְשִׁ֗י אֲשֶׁ֣ר פָּדִֽיתָ׃

My lips will shout for joy when I make music to You — my very life, which You have redeemed.

KJV My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb padita ('You have redeemed') uses the language of payment and liberation — padah means to buy back, to ransom, to liberate by paying a price. The psalmist's life has been purchased back from the grip of death and enemies.
Psalms 71:24

גַּם־לְ֭שׁוֹנִי כׇּל־הַיּ֗וֹם תֶּהְגֶּ֥ה צִדְקָתֶ֑ךָ כִּי־בֹ֥שׁוּ כִֽי־חָ֝פְר֗וּ מְבַקְשֵׁ֥י רָעָתִֽי׃

My tongue also, all day long, will murmur of Your righteousness, for those who sought my ruin have been shamed and disgraced.

KJV My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are brought to shame, for they are confounded, that seek my hurt.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The pairing of boshu ('they are ashamed') and chafru ('they are disgraced') is a standard Hebrew word pair for total public humiliation. The psalmist who feared being put to shame (verse 1) now sees that shame transferred to his enemies — the reversal is complete.
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