Psalm 71
English Standard Version
Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent
71 (A)In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
3 Be to me a rock of (B)refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have (C)given the command to save me,
for you are my (D)rock and my fortress.
4 (E)Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For you, O Lord, are my (F)hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned (G)from before my birth;
you are he who (H)took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.
7 I have been as (I)a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8 My (J)mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
9 (K)Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.
10 For my enemies speak concerning me;
those who (L)watch for my life (M)consult together
11 and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”
12 O God, be not (N)far from me;
O my God, (O)make haste to help me!
13 May my accusers be (P)put to shame and consumed;
(Q)with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who (R)seek my hurt.
14 But I will (S)hope continually
and will (T)praise you yet more and more.
15 My (U)mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for (V)their number is past my knowledge.
16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to (W)old age and gray hairs,
O God, (X)do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
19 Your (Y)righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done (Z)great things,
O God, (AA)who is like you?
20 You who have (AB)made me see many troubles and calamities
will (AC)revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
22 I will also praise you with (AD)the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O (AE)Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have (AF)redeemed.
24 And my (AG)tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been (AH)put to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt.
Psalm 71
New American Standard Bible
Prayer of an Old Man for Rescue.
71 (A)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be put to shame.
2 (B)In Your righteousness rescue me and save me;
(C)Extend Your ear to me and help me.
3 (D)Be to me a rock of (E)dwelling to which I may continually come;
You have given the (F)commandment to save me,
For You are (G)my rock and my fortress.
4 (H)Save me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
From the [a]grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless,
5 For You are my (I)hope;
Lord [b]God, You are my (J)confidence from my youth.
6 I have (K)leaned on you since my birth;
You are He who (L)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (M)praise is continually [c]of You.
7 I have become a (N)marvel to many,
For You are (O)my strong refuge.
8 My (P)mouth is filled with Your praise
And with (Q)Your glory all day long.
9 Do not cast me away at the (R)time of my old age;
Do not abandon me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies have spoken [d]against me;
And those who (S)watch for my [e]life (T)have consulted together,
11 Saying, “(U)God has abandoned him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is (V)no one to save him.”
12 God, (W)do not be far from me;
My God, (X)hurry to my aid!
13 May those who are enemies of my soul be (Y)put to shame and consumed;
May they be (Z)covered with disgrace and dishonor, who (AA)seek [f]to injure me.
14 But as for me, I will (AB)wait continually,
And will [g](AC)praise You yet more and more.
15 My (AD)mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of (AE)Your salvation all day long;
For I (AF)do not know the art of writing.
16 I will come (AG)with the mighty deeds of the Lord [h]God;
I will (AH)make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
17 God, You (AI)have taught me from my youth,
And I still (AJ)declare Your wondrous deeds.
18 And even when I am (AK)old and gray, God, do not abandon me,
Until I (AL)declare Your [i]strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.
19 [j]For Your (AM)righteousness, God, reaches to the [k]heavens,
You who have (AN)done great things;
God, (AO)who is like You?
20 You who have (AP)shown [l]me many troubles and distresses
Will (AQ)revive [m]me again,
And will bring [n]me up again (AR)from the depths of the earth.
21 May You increase my (AS)greatness
And turn to (AT)comfort me.
22 I will also praise You with [o](AU)a harp,
And Your [p]truth, my God;
I will sing praises to You with the (AV)lyre,
(AW)Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will (AX)shout for joy when I sing praises to You;
And my (AY)soul, which You have redeemed.
24 My (AZ)tongue also will tell of Your righteousness all day long;
For they are (BA)put to shame, for they are humiliated who seek [q]my harm.
Footnotes
- Psalm 71:4 Lit palm
- Psalm 71:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Psalm 71:6 Lit in
- Psalm 71:10 Lit with reference to
- Psalm 71:10 Lit soul
- Psalm 71:13 Lit my injury
- Psalm 71:14 Lit add upon all Your praise
- Psalm 71:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Psalm 71:18 Lit arm
- Psalm 71:19 Or And
- Psalm 71:19 Lit height
- Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
- Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
- Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
- Psalm 71:22 Lit an instrument of a harp
- Psalm 71:22 Or faithfulness
- Psalm 71:24 Or to injure me
Psalm 71
Common English Bible
Psalm 71
71 I’ve taken refuge in you, Lord.
Don’t let me ever be put to shame!
2 Deliver me and rescue me by your righteousness!
Bend your ear toward me and save me!
3 Be my rock of refuge
where I can always escape.
You commanded that my life be saved
because you are my rock and my fortress.
4 My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked;
rescue me from the grip of the wrongdoer and the oppressor
5 because you are my hope, Lord.
You, Lord, are the one I’ve trusted since childhood.
6 I’ve depended on you from birth—
you cut the cord when I came from my mother’s womb.
My praise is always about you.
7 I’ve become an example to many people
because you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
glorifying you all day long.
9 Don’t cast me off in old age.
Don’t abandon me when my strength is used up!
10 Yes, my enemies have been talking about me;
those who stalk me plot together:
11 “God has abandoned him!
Pursue him!
Grab him because no one will deliver him!”
12 Don’t be far from me, God!
My God, hurry to help me!
13 Let my accusers be put to shame,
completely finished off!
Let those who seek my downfall
be dressed in insults and disgrace!
14 But me? I will hope. Always.
I will add to all your praise.
15 My mouth will repeat your righteous acts
and your saving deeds all day long.
I don’t even know how many of those there are!
16 I will dwell on your mighty acts, my Lord.
Lord, I will help others remember nothing but your righteous deeds.
17 You’ve taught me since my youth, God,
and I’m still proclaiming your wondrous deeds!
18 So, even in my old age with gray hair,
don’t abandon me, God!
Not until I tell generations about your mighty arm,
tell all who are yet to come about your strength,
19 and about your ultimate righteousness, God,
because you’ve done awesome things!
Who can compare to you, God?
20 You, who have shown me many troubles and calamities,
will revive me once more.[a]
From the depths of the earth,
you will raise me up one more time.
21 Please increase my honor
and comfort me all around.
22 Then I’ll give you thanks with a harp—
I will thank you for your faithfulness, my God.
I will make music for you with the lyre, holy one of Israel.
23 My lips will rejoice aloud when I make music for you;
my whole being,[b] which you saved, will do the same.
24 My tongue, also, will tell of your righteousness all day long,
because those who seek my downfall
have been put to shame and disgraced.
Footnotes
- Psalm 71:20 Qere; Kethib who have shown us … will revive us
- Psalm 71:23 Or soul
Psalm 71
Contemporary English Version
A Prayer for God's Protection
1 I run to you, Lord,
for protection.
Don't disappoint me.
2 You do what is right,
so come to my rescue.
Listen to my prayer
and keep me safe.
3 Be my mighty rock,[a] the place
where I can always run
for protection.
Save me by your command!
You are my mighty rock
and my fortress.
4 Come and save me, Lord God,
from vicious and cruel
and brutal enemies!
5 I depend on you,
and I have trusted you
since I was young.
6 I have relied on you[b]
from the day I was born.
You brought me safely
through birth,
and I always praise you.
7 Many people think of me
as something evil.
But you are my mighty protector,
8 and I praise and honor you
all day long.
9 Don't throw me aside
when I am old;
don't desert me
when my strength is gone.
10 My enemies are plotting
because they want me dead.
11 They say, “Now we'll catch you!
God has deserted you,
and no one can save you.”
12 Come closer, God!
Please hurry and help.
13 Embarrass and destroy
all who want me dead;
disgrace and confuse
all who want to hurt me.
14 I will never give up hope
or stop praising you.
15 All day long I will tell
the wonderful things you do
to save your people.
But you have done much more
than I could possibly know.
16 I will praise you, Lord God,
for your mighty deeds
and your power to save.
17 You have taught me
since I was a child,
and I never stop telling about
your marvelous deeds.
18 Don't leave me when I am old
and my hair turns gray.
Let me tell future generations
about your mighty power.
19 Your deeds of kindness
are known in the heavens.
No one is like you!
20 You made me suffer a lot,
but you will bring me
back from this deep pit
and give me new life.
21 You will make me truly great
and take my sorrow away.
22 I will praise you, God,
the Holy One of Israel.
You are faithful.
I will play the harp
and sing your praises.
23 You have rescued me!
I will celebrate and shout,
singing praises to you
with all my heart.
24 All day long I will announce
your power to save.
I will tell how you disgraced
and disappointed those
who wanted to hurt me.
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