Psalms 74:21
in Psalms 74Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Oh let not the oppressed return ashamed: Let the poor and needy praise thy name.
KJV
O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
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This verse in Psalms 74
Commentary
11 notes on this verseO let not the oppressed return ashamed,.... From the throne of grace, not having an answer of their prayer, but still continuing under the oppressions of their enemies: let the poor and needy praise thy name; let them have occasion for it, by the destruction of their enemies, and their deliverance from them, as they will have ere long; see Rev 19:1.
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
Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame
Albert Barnes took retreat as coming back from the throne of mercy, and shame as the disgrace of a disappointed hope. The oppressed are trodden down, crushed. Matthew Henry turned the second line into a plea: deliver them, and they will praise your name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Let not the humble man be turned away confounded" (ver. 21). For them pride hath confounded. "The needy and helpless man shall praise Thy name." Ye see, brethren, how sweet ought to be poverty: ye see that poor and helpless men belong to God, but "poor in spirit, for of them is the Kingdom of Heaven." Who are the poor in spirit? The humble, men trembling at the words of God, confessing their sins, neither on their own merits, nor on their own righteousness relying. Who are the poor in spirit? They who when they do anything of good, praise God, when anything of evil, accuse themselves. "Upon whom shall rest My Spirit," saith the Prophet, "but upon the humble man, and peaceful, and trembling at My words?" Now therefore Asaph hath understood, now to the earth he adhereth not, now the earthly promises out of the Old Testament he requireth not. ...
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) because they are poor and unable to help themselves; they are oppressed, and so impoverished and made poor. See what reason they had to hope that God would appear for their relief and not suffer them to be always thus trampled upon.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), as they will be if they be disappointed." (5.) "If thou deliver them, they will praise thy name and give thee the glory of their deliverance. Appear, Lord, for those that will praise thy name, against those that blaspheme it."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
O let not the oppressed return ashamed. Though broken and crushed they come to thee with confidence; suffer them not to be disappointed, for then they will be ashamed of their hope. Let the poor and needy praise thy name. By thy speedy answer to their cries make their hearts glad, and they will render to thee their gladdest songs.
O let not the oppressed return ashamed. Though broken and crushed they come to thee with confidence; suffer them not to be disappointed, for then they will be ashamed of their hope. Let the poor and needy praise thy name. By thy speedy answer to their cries make their hearts glad, and they will render to thee their gladdest songs. It is not the way of the Lord to allow any of those who trust in him to be put to shame; for his word is, "He shall call upon me, and I will deliver him, and he shall glorify me."
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
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.
Let not the oppressed return ashamed - Do not permit thy people to be so diminished, that when, according to thy promise, they are restored to their own land, they may appear to be but a handful of men.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
O let not the oppressed return ashamed - Ashamed by being disappointed, as if they had trusted in that which had no claims to confidence. Compare the notes at Job 6:20. The word rendered “oppressed,” means “trodden down, crushed, broken, afflicted.” It refers to the people as attacked by foreign armies, or as crushed by those who had gained power over them. The word “return” refers to their coining back from God - from the throne of mercy. Let them not come back from thee with no assurance of thy favor; with no evidence that their prayers have been heard; let them not come back, subject to the reproach that they had made their appeal to thee in vain. Let the poor and needy praise thy name - The people who are oppressed and helpless. Let them have occasion to praise thee because their prayer has been heard, and because thou dost save them.
The words behind it
8 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 |
| יָשֹׁ֣ב | yasho | he return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| דַּ֣ךְ | dakh | [the] oppressed | H1790 → | 4 times |
| נִכְלָ֑ם | nikhlam | humiliated | H3637 → | 38 times |
| עָנִ֥י | ʾani | [the] poor | H6041 → | 73 times |
| וְ֝אֶבְי֗וֹן | veevyon | and [the] needy | H34 → | 61 times |
| יְֽהַלְל֥וּ | yehalu | may they praise | H1984 → | 165 times |
| שְׁמֶֽךָ׃ | shemekha | name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
יָשֹׁ֣בhe return
yashoH7725 →1056 times
דַּ֣ךְ[the] oppressed
dakhH1790 →4 times
נִכְלָ֑םhumiliated
nikhlamH3637 →38 times
עָנִ֥י[the] poor
ʾaniH6041 →73 times
וְ֝אֶבְי֗וֹןand [the] needy
veevyonH34 →61 times
יְֽהַלְל֥וּmay they praise
yehaluH1984 →165 times
שְׁמֶֽךָ׃name your
shemekhaH8034 →864 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
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.”
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Psalms 146:7–8
He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
- Isaiah 33:10
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.
- Proverbs 14:31
Through
Psalms 103:6The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
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.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 12:5
Through
Ezra 3:11And they sang responsively with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: “For He is good; for His loving devotion to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
- Psalms 106:1
Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
- 1 Chronicles 16:34
About Psalms
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.