Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever.
- KJV O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
- NKJV Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast! Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.
- NASB Do not give the soul of Your turtledove to the wild animal; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
- NLT Don’t let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves. Don’t forget your suffering people forever.
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
Asaph begs God not to hand over the soul of His helpless dove to wild beasts nor forget His afflicted people.
Overview
Israel is pictured as a vulnerable dove and as the poor and needy, utterly dependent on God's protection. The psalmist pleads that God would not abandon them to predatory enemies. This tender appeal reflects the covenant compassion God shows His own, fully revealed in Christ who gathers His people as a shepherd protects the flock.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Song 2:14O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.
- Jas 2:5–6Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Ps 9:18For the needy will not always be forgotten; nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.
- Matt 10:16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- Isa 60:8Who are these who fly like clouds, like doves to their shelters?
- Zeph 3:12But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the LORD.
- Ps 68:13Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver, and her feathers with shimmering gold.”
- Ps 68:10Your flock settled therein; O God, from Your bounty You provided for the poor.
- Song 4:1How beautiful you are, my darling—how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.
- Ps 72:2May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice.
- Song 6:9but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 74:19 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.