Be not far from me, O God. Hurry, O my God, to help me.
Parallel translations
- WEB God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.
- KJV O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.
- NKJV O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!
- NASB ¶God, do not be far from me; My God, hurry to my aid!
- NLT O God, don’t stay away. My God, please hurry to help me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The psalmist begs God not to be far off but to hurry to help him. It is an urgent plea for God's nearness and speedy aid.
Overview
Against his enemies' claim that God has forsaken him, the psalmist cries for God to draw near and come quickly to his rescue. His prayer answers their taunt with renewed appeal to God. This plea that God not be far in the hour of need echoes the cries of the righteous, including Christ, who entrusted himself to the Father even in apparent abandonment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 38:21–22Do not forsake me, O LORD; be not far from me, O my God.
- Ps 35:22O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.
- Ps 22:11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
- Ps 10:1Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
- Ps 70:5But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.
- Ps 69:18Draw near to my soul and redeem me; ransom me because of my foes.
- Ps 40:13Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; hurry, O LORD, to help me.
- Ps 143:7Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
- Ps 70:1–2For the choirmaster. Of David. To bring remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Hurry, O LORD, to help me!
- Ps 22:19But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 71:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.