Psalms 70 — T4T — Scriptura

A psalm written by David for the choir director, asking God to help David

70God, please save me!Yahweh, come quickly to help me!^{Verse 2}Humble those who are happy about my troubles/difficulties, and cause them to be disgraced/ashamed.Chase away those who are trying to kill me.^{Verse 3}I hope/desire that you will cause them to become dismayed and ashamedbecause you have defeated them.^{Verse 4}But I hope/desire that all those who go to worship you will be very joyful [DOU].I want those who love you because you saved them to shout repeatedly [HYP],“God is great!”

^{Verse 5}As for me, I am poor and needy [DOU];so God, come quickly to help me!Yahweh, you are the one who saves and helps me,so please come quickly!

Commentary

We see at once at the very beginning, in the omission of the רצה (Psa 40:14), that what we have here before us is a fragment of Ps 40, and perhaps a fragment that only accidentally came to have an independent existence. The להצּילני, which was under the government of רצה, now belongs to הוּשׁה, and the construction is without example elsewhere. In Psa 70:3 (= Psa 40:15) יחד and לספּותהּ are given up entirely; the original is more full-toned and soaring. Instead of ישׁמּוּ, torpescant, Psa 70:4 has ישׁוּבוּ, recedant (as in Ps 6:11, cf. Psa 9:18), which is all the more flat for coming after יסגו אחור. In Psa 70:4, after ויאמרים the לי, which cannot here (cf. on the contrary, Psa 35:21) be dispensed with, is wanting.

ויאמרו instead of יאמרו is unimportant. But since the divine name Jahve is now for once chosen side by side with Elohim, it certainly had a strong claim to be retained in Psa 70:5. Instead of תּשׁועתך we have ישׁועתך here; instead of עזרתי, here עזרי. And instead of אדני יחשׁב לי we have here אלהים חוּשׁה־לּי - the hope is turned into petition: make haste unto me, is an innovation in expression that is caused by the taking over of the לי.

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A psalm written by David for the choir director, asking God to help David

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