Psalm 71
Modern English Version
Psalm 71(A)
1 In You, O Lord, I seek refuge;
may I never be put to shame.
2 Deliver me in Your righteousness and help me escape;
incline Your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge
to enter continually;
You have given commandment to save me;
for You are my rock and my stronghold.
4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
out of the hand of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For You are my hope, O Lord God;
You are my confidence from my youth.
6 On You I have supported myself from the womb;
You took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise will continually be about You.
7 I am like a wondrous sign to many;
You are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth will be filled with Your praise
and with Your glory all the day.
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
and those who watch for my life take counsel together,
11 saying, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and catch him,
for there is none to deliver him.”
12 O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, act quickly to help me.
13 May the adversaries of my life be ashamed and confused;
may those who seek my harm
be enveloped in scorn and dishonor.
14 But I will hope continually,
and will add to all Your praise.
15 My mouth will declare Your righteousness
and Your salvation all the day,
for I cannot know their numbers.
16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
17 O God, You have taught me from my youth;
and until now I have proclaimed Your wondrous works.
18 Now also when I am old and gray,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I have proclaimed Your strength to this generation,
and Your power to everyone who is to come.
19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heights;
You have done great deeds;
O God, who is like You?
20 You who have shown me great distresses and troubles
will revive me again,
and will bring me up again
from the depths of the earth.
21 You will increase my greatness,
and You will encircle and comfort me.
22 I will give You thanks with the harp,
even Your truth, O my God;
to You I will sing with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will rejoice
when I sing to You,
and my soul, which You have redeemed.
24 My tongue also will speak of Your righteousness
all the day long;
for those who seek my harm are ashamed,
for they have been put to shame.
Psalm 71
Lexham English Bible
A Prayer to God the Rock of Refuge
71 In you, O Yahweh, I have taken 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 for me a rock of refuge to resort to always;
you have ordained[a] to save me,
because you are my rock and my fortress.
4 My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp[b] of the evildoer and the oppressor,
5 because you are my hope,
O Lord Yahweh, my confidence from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from birth.[c]
It was you who took[d] me from the womb of my mother.
My praise is of you continually.
7 I have become a wonder to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
with your glory all the day.
9 Do not cast me away in the time of old age;
when my strength fails do not abandon me.
10 For my enemies talk concerning me,
and those who watch for my life conspire together,
11 saying, “His God has abandoned him.
Pursue and seize him, because there is no deliverer.”
12 O God, do not be far from me.
My God, hurry to help me.
13 Let them be ashamed; let them perish
who are my adversaries.[e]
Let them wrap themselves with scorn and disgrace
who seek my harm.
14 But as for me, I will hope continually
and increase your praise.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
your salvation all day long,[f]
though I do not know the full sum of them.
16 I will come in to tell the mighty deeds of Lord Yahweh.
I will make known[g] your righteousness, yours only.
17 O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and up to now I have proclaimed your wonderful deeds.
18 And even when I am old and gray,
O God, do not abandon me
until I proclaim your strength[h] to this generation,
your power to every one that comes after.
19 And your righteousness, O God, is to the height of heaven.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
20 You who have caused me[i] to see many troubles and evils,
you will again revive me.[j]
And from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my greatness,
and you will comfort me all around.[k]
22 On my part, I will praise you with a stringed instrument,
and your faithfulness, O my God.
I will sing praises to you with a lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will sing for joy when I sing praises to you,
and my soul, which you have redeemed.
24 My tongue also
will speak of your righteousness all the day,
because they have been put to shame, because they have been humiliated
who seek my harm.
Footnotes
- Psalm 71:3 Or “commanded”
- Psalm 71:4 Literally “palm”
- Psalm 71:6 Literally “from the belly”
- Psalm 71:6 Literally “cut,” that is, the umbilical cord
- Psalm 71:13 Literally “adversaries of my soul”
- Psalm 71:15 Literally “all the day”
- Psalm 71:16 Literally “bring to remembrance”
- Psalm 71:18 Literally “arm”
- Psalm 71:20 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
- Psalm 71:20 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
- Psalm 71:21 A slightly different vocalization yields, “… comfort me again”; compare the LXX.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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