Mazmur 71:4-6

71:4 My God, rescue me from the power ¹  of the wicked,

from the hand of the cruel oppressor!

71:5 For you give me confidence, ²  O Lord;

O Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young. ³ 

71:6 I have leaned on you since birth; ⁴ 

you pulled me ⁵  from my mother’s womb.

I praise you continually. ⁶ 

Mazmur 71:9-11

71:9 Do not reject me in my old age! ⁷ 

When my strength fails, do not abandon me!

71:10 For my enemies talk about me;

those waiting for a chance to kill me plot my demise. ⁸ 

71:11 They say, ⁹  “God has abandoned him.

Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him!”

Mazmur 71:18-20

71:18 Even when I am old and gray, ¹⁰ 

O God, do not abandon me,

until I tell the next generation about your strength,

and those coming after me about your power. ¹¹ 

71:19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; ¹² 

you have done great things. ¹³ 

O God, who can compare to you? ¹⁴ 

71:20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress, ¹⁵ 

revive me once again! ¹⁶ 

Bring me up once again ¹⁷  from the depths of the earth!

Mazmur 129:1-2

Psalm 129 ¹⁸ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁹ 

129:1 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”

let Israel say.

129:2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,

but they have not defeated me.

[71:4]  ¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[71:5]  ² tn Heb “for you [are] my hope.”

[71:5]  ³ tn Heb “O Lord, my source of confidence from my youth.”

[71:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the womb.”

[71:6]  ⁵ tc The form in the MT is derived from גָזָה (gazah, “to cut off”), perhaps picturing God as the one who severed the psalmist’s umbilical cord. Many interpreters and translators prefer to emend the text to גֹחִי (gokhiy), from גוּח (gukh) or גִיח, (gikh, “pull out”; see Ps 22:9; cf. the present translation) or to עוּזִּי (’uzziy, “my strength”; cf. NEB “my protector since I left my mother’s womb”).

[71:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “in you [is] my praise continually.”

[71:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “do not cast me away at the time of old age.”

[71:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “those who watch for my life consult together.”

[71:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “saying.”

[71:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and even unto old age and gray hair.”

[71:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “until I declare your arm to a generation, to everyone who comes your power.” God’s “arm” here is an anthropomorphism that symbolizes his great strength.

[71:19]  ¹² tn Heb “your justice, O God, [is] unto the height.” The Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) is here a title for the sky/heavens.

[71:19]  sn Extends to the skies above. Similar statements are made in Pss 36:5 and 57:10.

[71:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “you who have done great things.”

[71:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Who is like you?”

[71:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you who have caused me to see many harmful distresses.”

[71:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you return, you give me life.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will revive me once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[71:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you return, you bring me up.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will bring me up once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[129:1]  ¹⁸ sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.

[129:1]  ¹⁹ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.