Psalms 71:9-18
Psalms 71:8-24 The Message (MSG)
Just as each day brims with your beauty, my mouth brims with praise. But don’t turn me out to pasture when I’m old or put me on the shelf when I can’t pull my weight. My enemies are talking behind my back, watching for their chance to knife me. The gossip is: “God has abandoned him. Pounce on him now; no one will help him.” God, don’t just watch from the sidelines. Come on! Run to my side! My accusers—make them lose face. Those out to get me—make them look Like idiots, while I stretch out, reaching for you, and daily add praise to praise. I’ll write the book on your righteousness, talk up your salvation all the day long, never run out of good things to write or say. I come in the power of the Lord GOD, I post signs marking his right-of-way. You got me when I was an unformed youth, God, and taught me everything I know. Now I’m telling the world your wonders; I’ll keep at it until I’m old and gray. God, don’t walk off and leave me until I get out the news Of your strong right arm to this world, news of your power to the world yet to come, Your famous and righteous ways, O God. God, you’ve done it all! Who is quite like you? You, who made me stare trouble in the face, Turn me around; Now let me look life in the face. I’ve been to the bottom; Bring me up, streaming with honors; turn to me, be tender to me, And I’ll take up the lute and thank you to the tune of your faithfulness, God. I’ll make music for you on a harp, Holy One of Israel. When I open up in song to you, I let out lungsful of praise, my rescued life a song. All day long I’m chanting about you and your righteous ways, While those who tried to do me in slink off looking ashamed.
Psalms 71:9-18 King James Version (KJV)
Cast me not off in the time of old age; Forsake me not when my strength faileth. For mine enemies speak against me; And they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, saying, God hath forsaken him: Persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him. O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt. But I will hope continually, And will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; For I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: And hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; Until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
Psalms 71:9-18 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. For my enemies have spoken against me; And those who watch for my life have consulted together, Saying, “God has forsaken him; Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to deliver.” O God, do not be far from me; O my God, hasten to my help! Let those who are adversaries of my soul be ashamed and consumed; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me. But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And of Your salvation all day long; For I do not know the sum of them. I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. O God, You have taught me from my youth, And I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.
Psalms 71:9-18 New Century Version (NCV)
Do not reject me when I am old; do not leave me when my strength is gone. My enemies make plans against me, and they meet together to kill me. They say, “God has left him. Go after him and take him, because no one will save him.” God, don’t be far off. My God, hurry to help me. Let those who accuse me be ashamed and destroyed. Let those who are trying to hurt me be covered with shame and disgrace. But I will always have hope and will praise you more and more. I will tell how you do what is right. I will tell about your salvation all day long, even though it is more than I can tell. I will come and tell about your powerful works, Lord GOD. I will remind people that only you do what is right. God, you have taught me since I was young. To this day I tell about the miracles you do. Even though I am old and gray, do not leave me, God. I will tell the children about your power; I will tell those who live after me about your might.
Psalms 71:9-18 American Standard Version (ASV)
Cast me not off in the time of old age; Forsake me not when my strength faileth. For mine enemies speak concerning me; And they that watch for my soul take counsel together, Saying, God hath forsaken him: Pursue and take him; for there is none to deliver. O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me. Let them be put to shame and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt. But I will hope continually, And will praise thee yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of thy righteousness, And of thy salvation all the day; For I know not the numbers thereof. I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Jehovah: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth; And hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Yea, even when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not, Until I have declared thy strength unto the next generation, Thy might to every one that is to come.
Psalms 71:9-18 New International Version (Anglicised) (NIVUK)
Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. They say, ‘God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no-one will rescue him.’ Do not be far from me, my God; come quickly, God, to help me. May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace. As for me, I shall always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long – though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone. Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds. Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.
Psalms 71:9-18 New King James Version (NKJV)
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, Saying, “God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.” O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! Let them be confounded and consumed Who are adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt. But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.
Psalms 71:9-18 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Do not cast me off nor send me away in the time of old age; Do not abandon me when my strength fails and I am weak. For my enemies have spoken against me; Those who watch for my life have consulted together, Saying, “God has abandoned him; Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.” ¶O God, do not be far from me; O my God, come quickly to help me! Let those who attack my life be ashamed and consumed; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me. But as for me, I will wait and hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And of Your [deeds of] salvation all day long, For their number is more than I know. I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord GOD [and in His strength]; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. ¶O God, You have taught me from my youth, And I still declare Your wondrous works and miraculous deeds. And even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not abandon me, Until I declare Your [mighty] strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.
Psalms 71:9-18 New Living Translation (NLT)
And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside. Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing. For my enemies are whispering against me. They are plotting together to kill me. They say, “God has abandoned him. Let’s go and get him, for no one will help him now.” O God, don’t stay away. My God, please hurry to help me. Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers. Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me. But I will keep on hoping for your help; I will praise you more and more. I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD. I will tell everyone that you alone are just. O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
Psalms 71:9-18 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Now that I’m old, don’t set me aside. Don’t let go of me when my strength is spent. For all my enemies whisper behind my back. They’re waiting for me to fall so they can finish me off. They’re convinced you’ve left me and that you’ll never come to my rescue. They’re saying, “Let’s get him now! He has no savior!” O God, stay close to me! Don’t just watch from a distance! Hurry to help me, my God! Cover these accusers of mine with shame and failure! Destroy them all, for they only want to kill me! No matter what, I’ll trust in you to help me. Nothing will stop me from praising you to magnify your glory! I couldn’t begin to count the times you’ve been there for me. With the skill of a poet I’ll never run out of things to say about how you faithfully kept me from danger. I will come forth in your mighty strength, O my Lord God. I’ll tell everyone that you alone are the perfect one. From my childhood you’ve been my teacher, and I’m still telling everyone of your miracle-wonders! God, now that I’m old and gray, don’t walk away. Give me grace to demonstrate to the next generation all your mighty miracles and your excitement, to show them your magnificent power!
Psalms 71:9-18 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together and say, “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.” O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt. But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.