Section 101 of 27171:1–24Psalms

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King James VersionPsalms 71:1–24

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Psalms 71:1–24

Lifelong trust through aging and threat

Trust that began in the womb now asks not to be thrown away in old age

In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort. Thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. 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.

I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. Enemies say God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him, for there is none to deliver. Aging here is vulnerability plus testimony, not a stigma, not a promise of painless years, and not a reason to treat disabled or elderly bodies as finished.

Grey hair still wants a generation to tell, and sore troubles do not cancel a harp

O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 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.

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. Increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. Psaltery and harp, lips and tongue, will talk of righteousness all the day. The enemies who sought hurt are left to shame as a prayer, not as the elderly speaker's job. Lifelong trust includes asking for continued care, not substituting piety for medicine, housing, or companions.

How this should shape us

Stay with aging people as witnesses, not as burdens. Do not cast off grey hair, do not treat failing strength as abandoned faith, and do not let prayer replace doctors, food, and a generation ready to listen.

Teach it back

Explain Psalms 71:1–24 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 71 and Book II, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.

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The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do responsible readings differ?

Best judgment: Aging language honors dependence and testimony; it must not stigmatize disability, promise painless old age, or substitute prayer for care.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Psalms 71:1–24, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 71:1–24

NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150

Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 71:1–24.

Official NET Bible Psalm 71 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 71:1–24

Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.

Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 71:1–24

A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms

Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.

NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 71 for Psalms 71:1–24

An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms: Reformed and Evangelical Approaches to the Interpretation of Imprecatory Psalms

Supports: Major historical, literary, covenantal, ethical, and reception approaches to curses and enemy language.

Simango and Krüger, 'An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms,' OTE 29.3 (2016), pp. 581–600, complete approach survey; applied to Psalms 71:1–24

Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words in the 21st century

Supports: Imprecation retained as difficult prayer and communal speech without converting violent wishes into commands or erasing Jewish reception.

deClaissé-Walford, 'Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words,' Acta Theologica Suppl. 32 (2021), pp. 275–292, especially literary, liturgical, trauma, and ethical proposal; applied to Psalms 71:1–24

Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023

Supports: Communication safeguards against romanticizing, sensationalizing, diagnosing, blaming, or simplifying despair, isolation, death wishes, and severe loss; not exegesis.

WHO, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023, quick guide p. xiii and dos and don'ts pp. 11–16; applied only to modern safety-aware presentation of Psalms 71:1–24

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Exact location: Psalms 71:1–24, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 71:1–24

Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition

Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 71:1–24.

Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 71 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 71:1–24

Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗

modern scholarly book course

Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024

Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 71:1–24

Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗

ancient greek text translation and introduction

A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms

Albert Pietersma

International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009

Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.

Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 71 for Psalms 71:1–24

Open NETS Psalms ↗

peer reviewed open access research overview

An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms: Reformed and Evangelical Approaches to the Interpretation of Imprecatory Psalms

Daniel Simango and P. Paul Krüger

Old Testament Essays 29.3, 2016

Supports: Major historical, literary, covenantal, ethical, and reception approaches to curses and enemy language.

Exact location: Simango and Krüger, 'An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms,' OTE 29.3 (2016), pp. 581–600, complete approach survey; applied to Psalms 71:1–24

Open the imprecatory-psalm overview ↗

peer reviewed open access literary and ethical study

Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words in the 21st century

Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford

Acta Theologica Supplementum 32, 2021

Supports: Imprecation retained as difficult prayer and communal speech without converting violent wishes into commands or erasing Jewish reception.

Exact location: deClaissé-Walford, 'Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words,' Acta Theologica Suppl. 32 (2021), pp. 275–292, especially literary, liturgical, trauma, and ethical proposal; applied to Psalms 71:1–24

Open deClaissé-Walford on imprecation ↗

public health communication guidance

Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023

World Health Organization

World Health Organization, 2023

Supports: Communication safeguards against romanticizing, sensationalizing, diagnosing, blaming, or simplifying despair, isolation, death wishes, and severe loss; not exegesis.

Exact location: WHO, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023, quick guide p. xiii and dos and don'ts pp. 11–16; applied only to modern safety-aware presentation of Psalms 71:1–24

Open the WHO communication guide ↗