Bible Strands
Psalms 71:5
For You are my hope, O Lord GOD, my confidence from my youth.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the Lord directly, positioning this declaration between a plea for rescue from the wicked in verse 4 and a reminder of lifelong reliance in verse 6. The speaker grounds a present cry for deliverance in a historical pattern of divine faithfulness.
The words — The Hebrew תִּקְוָתִי (tiqvātî) translates literally as "my hope," while מִבְטַחִי (mivṭaḥî) means "my confidence." The phrase מִנְּעוּרָי (minnʿûrāy, "since my youth") grammatically modifies only the latter noun, marking the specific starting point of that sustained trust.
The thread — The psalmist’s pairing of hope and confidence parallels the trust language in Jeremiah 17:7 and Psalm 39:7, while the posture of waiting corresponds to the expectation noted in Psalm 119:81. These references trace a consistent biblical movement from human longing to divine reliability.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to locate the precise object of their expectation rather than treating hope as a vague emotion. It demands a practical acknowledgment that reliance on God is measured by duration and continuity, not merely by intensity of feeling.
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
For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- Psalms 39:7 And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
- Psalms 119:81 My soul faints for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.
- Psalms 71:17 O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.
- 1 Samuel 17:45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
- Psalms 22:9 Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast.
- Psalms 119:166 I wait for Your salvation, O LORD, and I carry out Your commandments.
- Jeremiah 17:17 Do not become a terror to me; You are my refuge in the day of disaster.
- Jeremiah 14:8 O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays but a night?
- Jeremiah 17:13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.