The Meaning of Psalms 71:4 Explained

Psalms 71:4

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

YLT: O my God, cause me to escape From the hand of the wicked, From the hand of the perverse and violent.

Darby: My God, rescue me out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

ASV: Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Psalms 71:4 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 71:4 mean?

My God Deliver me out of the hand of the wicked Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man
אֱ‍ֽלֹהַ֗י פַּ֭לְּטֵנִי מִיַּ֣ד רָשָׁ֑ע מִכַּ֖ף מְעַוֵּ֣ל וְחוֹמֵץ‪‬

אֱ‍ֽלֹהַ֗י  My  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
פַּ֭לְּטֵנִי  Deliver  me 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: פָּלַט  
Sense: to escape, save, deliver, slip away.
מִיַּ֣ד  out  of  the  hand 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
רָשָׁ֑ע  of  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
מִכַּ֖ף  Out  of  the  hand 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: כַּף  
Sense: palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand.
מְעַוֵּ֣ל  of  the  unrighteous 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָוַל  
Sense: to act wrongfully or unjustly, deviate from.
וְחוֹמֵץ‪‬  and  cruel  man 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: חָמוּץ 
Sense: to be leavened, be sour.