Bible Strands
Psalms 71:11
saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist reports his enemies speaking against him while lying in wait for his life (Psalms 71:10), immediately followed by his direct plea to God for intervention (Psalms 71:12). The verse records the adversaries’ spoken accusation.
The words — עֲזָב֑/וֹ (a.za.V/o) translates literally as “he has forsaken him,” paired with אֵ֥ין ('ein) meaning “there is not.” These terms form the grammatical core of the hostile claim.
The thread — The accusation parallels the enemy declaration in Psalms 3:2 that “God will not deliver him,” while Psalms 7:2 and Psalms 50:22 contain the psalmist’s own fears or God’s warning about lacking a rescuer rather than enemy assertions.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to distinguish between hostile rumors and divine reality, demanding steadfast trust in God’s presence when circumstances appear to confirm the lie.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.
Cross-references
- Psalms 7:2 or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
- Psalms 3:2 Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah
- Psalms 50:22 Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
- Matthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- 2 Chronicles 32:13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have the gods of these nations ever been able to deliver their land from my hand?
- Psalms 37:25 I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
- Psalms 37:28 For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
- Psalms 41:7 All who hate me whisper against me; they imagine the worst for me:
- Psalms 42:10 Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Daniel 3:15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”