Psalms 71:4

Psa 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

Ver. 4. Out of the hand of the unrighteous] That seeketh by fraud to undermine me, and by force to overturn me.

And cruel man] Qui totus in fermento iacet; sour as leaven, sharp as vinegar.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 71:4. My God, free me, cause me to escape, from the hand of the wicked, from the palm, a poetical equivalent to hand, of the perverse and corruptoer. The last word in Hebrew occurs only here, but from its form appears to be the particle of a verb that means to be (or become) sour, to ferment, to putrefy. The infinitive of the same verb is applied to moral evil in Isa 1:17.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, from Absalom, Ahithophel and that conspiracy.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 4. Out of the hand of the wicked] Probably his unnatural son Absalom, called here רשע rasha, the WICKED, because he had violated all laws, human and Divine.

The unrighteous and cruel man.] Probably Ahithophel who was the iniquitous counsellor of a wicked and rebellious son.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. O my God! deliver me from the hand of the wicked man. Here he uses the singular number; but he is not to be understood as indicating one man only. It is highly probable that he comprehends the whole host of the enemies who assaulted him. We have elsewhere had occasion to observe how greatly it contributes to inspire us with the confidence of obtaining our requests, when we are so assured of our own integrity, as to be able freely to complain before God that we are unjustly and wickedly assaulted by our enemies; for we ought not to doubt that God, who has promised to become the defender of those who are unjustly oppressed, will, in that case, undertake our cause.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(4-6) These verses are manifestly founded on Psa_31:8-10; but the variations are more marked than usual, and indicate a definite purpose of adaptation rather than copying.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. Deliver me] R.V., rescue me, as in Psa_71:2.

the unrighteous and cruel man] Comp. the complaints in Habakkuk (Hab_1:2-4) and Jeremiah (Jer_6:7; &c.) of the prevailing injustice and violence. The singular is probably collective.

4–8. The ground of the Psalmist’s appeal for deliverance.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,.... Meaning Absalom his son, as Arama, who had risen up in rebellion against him; and he may not only intend him, but all those wicked men that had joined with him: it was David's mercy he had a covenant God to go to, and could claim his interest in him, who had power to deliver him, and from whom he might expect it;

out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man; or "leavened" (s); a sour ill natured man; one leavened with malice and wickedness: perhaps Ahithophel is intended. It may be applied to any wicked, lawless, and tyrannical persecutor of God's people; and particularly to the lawless and wicked one, the man of sin, the son of perdition, antichrist, Th2 2:4.

(s) "malitiae fermento prorsus corrupti", Michaelis, "secundum", Gejerum & Gussetium; so Ainsworth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked - It is, of course, not possible now to ascertain who are particularly referred to here. If David was the author of the psalm, they may have been any of the numerous enemies that he had in his life.

Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man - Hebrew, “out of the palm.” This means here the same as hand, and refers to the “grasp” which anyone makes in taking hold of a thing by the hand.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 4. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked. God is on the same side with us, and those who are our enemies are also his, for they are wicked; therefore will the Lord surely rescue his own confederates, and he will not suffer the evil to triumph over the just. He who addresses such a prayer as this to heaven, does more injury to his enemies than if he had turned a battery of Armstrongs upon them.

Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. Being wicked to God, they become unrighteous towards men, and cruel in their persecutions of the godly. Two hands are here mentioned: they grasp and they crush; they strike and they would slay if God did not prevent; had they as many hands as Briarcus, the finger of God would more than match them.

Ver. 4. The cruel man is literally the leavened man, leavened with hatred of truth and enmity to God; and, therefore, a violent opposer of his people. So, in 1Co 5:8 we are cautioned against the "leaven of malice and wickedness, "which, in accordance with the figure, may pervade the whole natural character of an ungodly man, his faculties and affections. W. Wilson.

Ver. 4.

I. When God is for us, the wicked are against us.

II. When the wicked are against us, God is for us.

Psalms 71:5*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. The unrighteous and cruel man—If this refers to any one individual, and we have rightly judged the occasion of the psalm, the allusion might well be to Ahithophel. See our note on Psa_55:12. But it may be a general and abstract term for any and every man who is “unrighteous and cruel.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand (rather, grasp) of the unrighteous and cruel man. it is characteristic of David to single out from his adversaries an individual man, from whom he especially asks to be delivered. (comp. Psa_13:2 Psa_17:13 Psa_18:17, 48 35:8 41:6, 9, 11 55:13, 14, etc.)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous

Possible meanings are 1) the word "hand" is a metonym for power. AT: "from the power of the wicked, from the power of the unrighteous" or 2) "hand" refers to the person himself. AT: "from wicked people, from unrighteous ... people" or "so that wicked people and unrighteous ... people cannot harm me" (See: Metonymy)

wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous

"wicked; rescue me out of the hand of the unrighteous." You can make clear the understood information. (See: Ellipsis)

wicked ... unrighteous ... cruel

These adjectives can be translated as noun phrases. AT: "wicked people ... unrighteous people ... cruel people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

you are my hope

Here "hope" is a metonym for the one in whom the psalmist hopes. AT: "you are the one whom I confidently expect to help me" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

God

hand

evil

righteous

hope

Lord Yahweh

trust

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

and robs Heb. וחומץ, like וחומס. Similarly (Isa. 1:17): “strengthen the robbed (חמוץ)”; the robbed.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.