Psalms 74:19
in Psalms 74Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Oh deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast: Forget not the life of thy poor for ever.
KJV
O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
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This verse in Psalms 74
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHow are those increased that trouble them! There is no standing before an enraged multitude, especially like these, armed with power; and, as they are numerous, so they are barbarous: The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
This site's exposition
how the enemy has mocked You
on Psalms 74:18-21
The requests gather: remember the mocking, and do not hand the soul of your dove over to beasts. The ground of the asking is the covenant, with haunts of violence filling the dark places of the land. The last request is that the poor praise his name.
This site's exposition
the soul of Your dove
Albert Barnes took the dove as a name of endearment, as in the Song of Songs, for a people gentle, timid and dear to God. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown noted that the Hebrew for beasts is singular and can name a company of men. Gentleness is set against savagery.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But what sayest thou, O Asaph, now in understanding? "Deliver not to the beasts a soul confessing to Thee" (ver. 19). ...To what beasts, save to those the heads whereof were broken in pieces upon the water? For the same devil is called, beast, lion, and dragon. Do not, he saith, give to the Devil and his Angels a soul confessing to Thee. Let the serpent devour, if still I mind things earthly, if for things earthly I long, if still in the promises of the Old Testament, after the revealing of the New, I remain. But forasmuch as now I have laid down pride, and my own righteousness I will not acknowledge, but Thy Grace; against me let proud beasts have no power. "The souls of Thy poor forget Thou not unto the end." Rich we were, strong we were: but Thou hast dried up the rivers of Etham: no longer we establish our own righteousness, but we acknowledge Thy Grace; poor we are, hearken to Thy beggars. Now we do not dare to lift our eyes to Heaven, but smiting our breasts we say, "O Lord, be Thou merciful to me a sinner."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
5 ), but they have the more reason to expect thou wilt appear for them because they are many: it is the congregation of thy poor; let them not be abandoned and forgotten for ever." (3.) "They are in covenant with thee; and wilt thou not have respect unto the covenant?
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O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
multitude--literally, "beast," their flock or company of men (Ps 68:10). turtledove--that is, the meek and lonely Church. congregation--literally, "the company," as above--thus the Church is represented as the spoiled and defeated remnant of an army, exposed to violence.
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Having spread the sad case before the Lord, the pleader now urges another series of arguments for divine help. He reasons from the Lord's former wonders of grace, and his deeds of power, imploring a repetition of the same divine works.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove - Thy people Israel are helpless, defenceless, miserable, and afflicted: O deliver them no longer into the power of their brutal adversaries.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove - The “life” of thy turtle-dove; or, thy turtle-dove itself. The turtle-dove is a name of endearment for one beloved, in Son 2:12, and is thus applied here to the people of Israel. The leading idea in such an application of the word is that of innocence, harmlessness, timidity, gentleness. The thought here is that of a people dear to God, now timid and alarmed. It is the prayer of a people beloved by God that he would not deliver them to their enemies. The prayer may be regarded as one which was used on the occasion referred to in the psalm; or, as a general prayer for the people of God, considered as exposed to ravening enemies. Unto the multitude of the wicked - The words “of the wicked” are not in the original. The word rendered “multitude” - חיה chayâh - (compare the notes at Psa 68:10) - is the same which in the other member of the sentence is rendered “congregation.” It may be applied to a herd of cattle, tame or wild; and then to a “people” - a band, a troop, a host - whether of orderly and civilized, or of wild and savage people. It seems to be used in this double sense in the verse before us; in the first member of the verse, “deliver not thy turtle-dove “to the multitude” - to the wild beast, or to the savage hosts; in the latter, “forget not the congregation of thy poor” - thy flock - thy people - considered as timid or alarmed. Save the timid and trembling flock from beasts of prey.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּתֵּ֣ן | titen | you give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְ֭חַיַּת | lechaiyat | to an animal | H2416 → | 498 times |
| נֶ֣פֶשׁ | nefesh | [the] life of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| תּוֹרֶ֑ךָ | torekha | turtle-dove your | H8449 → | |
| חַיַּ֥ת | chaiyat | [the] life of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| עֲ֝נִיֶּ֗יךָ | ʾaniyeikha | poor [people] your | H6041 → | 73 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח | tishkach | you forget | H7911 → | 102 times |
| לָנֶֽצַח׃ | lanetzach | to perpetuity | H5331 → | 43 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּתֵּ֣ןyou give
titenH5414 →2011 times
לְ֭חַיַּתto an animal
lechaiyatH2416 →498 times
נֶ֣פֶשׁ[the] life of
nefeshH5315 →754 times
תּוֹרֶ֑ךָturtle-dove your
torekhaH8449 →
חַיַּ֥ת[the] life of
chaiyatH2416 →498 times
עֲ֝נִיֶּ֗יךָpoor [people] your
ʾaniyeikhaH6041 →73 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּשְׁכַּ֥חyou forget
tishkachH7911 →102 times
לָנֶֽצַח׃to perpetuity
lanetzachH5331 →43 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 10:16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
it leads to
- Philippians 2:15
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- Luke 10:3
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- Colossians 4:5
Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
- Ephesians 5:15–17
Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
- Philippians 2:15
Through
Psalms 9:18For the needy will not always be forgotten; nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.
it leads to
- Psalms 12:5
“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
- Proverbs 23:18
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
- Proverbs 24:14
Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.
- Psalms 12:5
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 74; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.