The Meaning of Psalms 71:2 Explained

Psalms 71:2

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

YLT: In Thy righteousness Thou dost deliver me, And dost cause me to escape, Incline unto me Thine ear, and save me.

Darby: Deliver me in thy righteousness, and rescue me; incline thine ear unto me, and save me.

ASV: Deliver me in thy righteousness, and rescue me: Bow down thine ear unto me, and save me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Psalms 71:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 71:1-12 - "my Trust From My Youth&Rdquo
Some commentators ascribe this psalm to Jeremiah. His pensive, plaintive tone is certainly present in it. But whoever the author, he must have written in his old age, Psalms 71:9; Psalms 71:17-18. One keynote is great and greatly, Psalms 71:19-21; Psalms 71:23; another is all the day, Psalms 71:8; Psalms 71:15; Psalms 71:24.
Old men need have no failure in their buoyancy and gladness, if they will fix their thoughts where the psalmist fixed his. Other subjects will soon wear out, but they who make God's righteousness and salvation their theme will ever have material for meditation and praise. We have here an inexhaustible subject, and one which will keep us young. Let us ask for help, that we may disappoint the calculations of those who hate us, whether men or demons. It is a piteous spectacle when apparently prosperous careers" are overclouded, and age is overwhelmed in catastrophes which there is no time to surmount. But such is not God's way with His loyal servants. His rivers do not end in swamps and marshes, but broaden and deepen till they kiss the mighty ocean. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 71

1  David, in confidence of faith, and experience of God's favor, prays both for himself,
10  and against the enemies of his soul
14  He promises constancy
17  He prays for perseverance
19  He praises God, and promises to do it cheerfully

What do the individual words in Psalms 71:2 mean?

In Your righteousness Deliver me and cause me to escape Incline to me Your ear and save me
בְּצִדְקָתְךָ֗ תַּצִּילֵ֥נִי וּֽתְפַלְּטֵ֑נִי הַטֵּֽה־ אֵלַ֥י אָ֝זְנְךָ֗ וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי

בְּצִדְקָתְךָ֗  In  Your  righteousness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: צְדָקָה  
Sense: justice, righteousness.
תַּצִּילֵ֥נִי  Deliver  me 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.
וּֽתְפַלְּטֵ֑נִי  and  cause  me  to  escape 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: פָּלַט  
Sense: to escape, save, deliver, slip away.
הַטֵּֽה־  Incline 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: נָטָה 
Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
אֵלַ֥י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
אָ֝זְנְךָ֗  Your  ear 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֹזֶן  
Sense: ear, as part of the body.
וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי  and  save  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: יָשַׁע 
Sense: to save, be saved, be delivered.