Psalm 70 Discourse
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Psalm 70
About the Discourse Layer
Our Discourse Layer includes four additional layers of analysis:
- Participant analysis
- Macrosyntax
- Speech act analysis
- Emotional analysis
For more information on our method of analysis, click the expandable explanation button at the beginning of each layer.
Participant Analysis
Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? It is often helpful for understanding literary structure, speaker identification, etc.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Participant Analysis Creator Guidelines.
There are 4 participants/characters in Psalm 70:
Profile List
| David (v. 1) |
| YHWH (vv. 2, 6) |
| "God" (vv. 2, 5-6) |
| Faithful ones (v. 5) |
| David's enemies (vv. 3-4) |
Profile Notes
- The psalmist is identified as David in the superscription. He urges YHWH to hurry to his aid (vv. 2, 6) and identifies as "poor and needy."
- YHWH is also identified as "God," to whom David calls for aid and whom the faithful ones wish, "Let God be praised!" (v. 5b).
- The faithful ones are identified as those who seek YHWH and those who love his salvation. They seem to address their own congregation with the quoted speech in v. 5.
- David's enemies are said to seek his life and delight in his harm (v. 3). They also taunt and ridicule David with the interjection "Take that!" (הֶ֘אָ֥ח ׀ הֶאָֽח; see the lexical note).
| Hebrew | Verse | English |
|---|---|---|
| לַ֝מְנַצֵּ֗חַ לְדָוִ֥ד לְהַזְכִּֽיר׃ | v. 1 | For the director. By David. To bring to remembrance. |
| אֱלֹהִ֥ים לְהַצִּילֵ֑נִי | v. 2a | God, [hurry] to rescue me! |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי חֽוּשָֽׁה׃ | v. 2b | YHWH, hurry to my aid! |
| יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ֮ מְבַקְשֵׁ֪י נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | v. 3a | May those who seek my life be disappointed and ashamed! |
| יִסֹּ֣גוּ אָ֭חוֹר וְיִכָּלְמ֑וּ | v. 3b | May those who desire my harm be turned back and be disgraced! |
| חֲ֝פֵצֵ֗י רָעָתִֽי׃ | v. 3c | those who desire my harm |
| יָ֭שׁוּבוּ עַל־עֵ֣קֶב בָּשְׁתָּ֑ם | v. 4a | May those who say "Take that!" retreat on account of their shame! |
| הָ֝אֹמְרִ֗ים הֶ֘אָ֥ח ׀ הֶאָֽח׃ | v. 4b | those who say "Take that!" |
| יָ֘שִׂ֤ישׂוּ וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ ׀ בְּךָ֗ כָּֽל־מְבַ֫קְשֶׁ֥יךָ | v. 5a | May all those who seek you be glad and rejoice in you! |
| וְיֹאמְר֣וּ תָ֭מִיד יִגְדַּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֑ים | v. 5b | And may those who love your salvation always say, "Let God be praised!" |
| אֹ֝הֲבֵ֗י יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃ | v. 5c | those who love your salvation |
| וַאֲנִ֤י ׀ עָנִ֣י וְאֶבְיוֹן֮ | v. 6a | But I am poor and needy. |
| אֱלֹהִ֪ים חֽוּשָׁ֫ה־לִּ֥י | v. 6b | God, hurry to me! |
| עֶזְרִ֣י וּמְפַלְטִ֣י אַ֑תָּה | v. 6c | You are my help and my deliverer. |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה אַל־תְּאַחַֽר׃ | v. 6d | YHWH, do not delay! |
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
Notes:
- David and YHWH are primarily present at the beginning and end of the psalm (see the poetic macrostructure), with David present and YHWH absent in v. 3, David absent and YHWH present in v. 5, and neither present in v. 4.
- There is a skillful presence of two (and only two) participants in each verse, with the exception of v. 4, which only features the enemies.
- The enemies overlap with the psalmist (v. 3), and the faithful ones overlap with YHWH (v. 5), yet the enemies and faithful ones never appear in the same verse.
Macrosyntax
Macrosyntax Diagram
| Macrosyntax legend | |
|---|---|
| Vocatives | Vocatives are indicated by purple text. |
| Discourse marker | Discourse markers (such as כִּי, הִנֵּה, לָכֵן) are indicated by orange text. |
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The scope governed by the discourse marker is indicated by a dashed orange bracket connecting the discourse marker to its scope. |
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The preceding discourse grounding the discourse marker is indicated by a solid orange bracket encompassing the relevant clauses. |
| Subordinating conjunction | The subordinating conjunction is indicated by teal text. |
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Subordination is indicated by a solid teal bracket connecting the subordinating conjunction with the clause to which it is subordinate. |
| Coordinating conjunction | The coordinating conjunction is indicated by blue text. |
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Coordination is indicated by a solid blue line connecting the coordinating clauses. |
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Coordination without an explicit conjunction is indicated by a dashed blue line connecting the coordinated clauses. |
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Marked topic is indicated by a black dashed rounded rectangle around the marked words. |
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The scope of the activated topic is indicated by a black dashed bracket encompassing the relevant clauses. |
| Marked focus or thetic sentence | Marked focus (if one constituent) or thetic sentences[1] are indicated by bold text. |
 |
Frame setters[2] are indicated by a solid gray rounded rectangle around the marked words. |
| [blank line] | Discourse discontinuity is indicated by a blank line. |
| [indentation] | Syntactic subordination is indicated by indentation. |
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Direct speech is indicated by a solid black rectangle surrounding all relevant clauses. |
| (text to elucidate the meaning of the macrosyntactic structures) | Within the CBC, any text elucidating the meaning of macrosyntax is indicated in gray text inside parentheses. |
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
(Click diagram to enlarge)
- v. 2. The tight line-binding brought about by the repetition of the vocative, the constituent order, and the backwards gappings (see the notes on vocatives and constituent order) create schematic satisfaction before the discourse continues into a new unit.[3]
- v. 6. The waw and independent pronoun "But I" (וַאֲנִ֤י) create a strong topic shift, indicating a discourse discontinuity between vv. 3–5 and v. 6.
- v. 2b. The position of לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי, following the vocative and preceding the imperative, repeats the pattern established in the previous line. Along with the backwards-gapped imperative, these lines are significantly bound and cognitive closure achieved before the discourse moves on.
- v. 6c. The verbless clause "You are my help and my deliverer" is either predicational with the comment preceding the topic, or specificational, in which case, עֶזְרִ֣י וּמְפַלְטִ֣י provide the topic and the comment is the specification that "it is you." Under the first reading (predicational), the information packaging would involve [You are]top [my help and my deliverer]comment, with the comment fronted for particular selective focus; under the second reading (specificational), the information packaging would involve [You are]comment the one who is [my help and my deliverer]topic. In light of the fronting of עֶזְרִ֣י וּמְפַלְטִ֣י, we find the latter more plausible.[4]
- The vocative "God" (אֱלֹהִ֥ים) in v. 2a signals the beginning of a conversational turn (as the beginning of the psalm) and grabs the addressee's attention, which is common when accompanied by urgent imperatives, as in the present instance.[5]
- The vocative YHWH (יְ֝הוָ֗ה) in v. 2b repeats the pattern of the preceding line (see above). The syntax also involves backward-gapping (see the grammar note), further binding the syntax and semantics of the entire verse.
- The vocative "God" (אֱלֹהִ֪ים) in v. 6b signals the beginning of a conversational turn (moving from the topic shift of "But I") and grabs the addressee's attention, which is common when accompanied by urgent imperatives, as in the present instance.[6]
- The vocative YHWH (יְ֝הוָ֗ה) in v. 6d both repeats the pattern of the preceding vocative (see above) and precedes the urgent request that concludes the psalm.
- Notice, also, that the line-initial position of all four vocatives of the psalm significantly contributes to the psalm's poetic macrostructure.
(There are no notes on discourse markers for this psalm.)
- The only subordination present in Psalm 70 is implied by the quoted speech in both vv. 4 and 5.
- The weyiqtol וְיֹאמְר֣וּ in v. 5b coordinates its clause with the preceding clause in v. 5a.
- The waw on "But I" (וַאֲנִ֤י) provides a strong topic shift and therefore coordinates (and contrasts) the content of v. 6 with the reality of those discussed in v. 5.
Speech Act Analysis
The Speech Act layer presents the text in terms of what it does, following the findings of Speech Act Theory. It builds on the recognition that there is more to communication than the exchange of propositions. Speech act analysis is particularly important when communicating cross-culturally, and lack of understanding can lead to serious misunderstandings, since the ways languages and cultures perform speech acts varies widely.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Speech Act Analysis Creator Guidelines.
Summary Visual
Speech Act Analysis Chart
The following chart is scrollable (left/right; up/down).
| Verse | Hebrew | CBC | Sentence type | Illocution (general) | Illocution with context | Macro speech act | Intended perlocution (Think) | Intended perlocution (Feel) | Intended perlocution (Do) |
| Verse number and poetic line | Hebrew text | English translation | Declarative, Imperative, or Interrogative Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
Assertive, Directive, Expressive, Commissive, or Declaratory Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
More specific illocution type with paraphrased context | Illocutionary intent (i.e. communicative purpose) of larger sections of discourse These align with the "Speech Act Summary" headings |
What the speaker intends for the address to think | What the speaker intends for the address to feel | What the speaker intends for the address to do |
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
| Verse | Text (Hebrew) | Text (CBC) | Sentence type | Illocution (general) | Illocution with context | Macro speech act | Intended perlocution (Think) | Intended perlocution (Feel) | Intended perlocution (Do) | Speech Act Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | לַ֝מְנַצֵּ֗חַ לְדָוִ֥ד לְהַזְכִּֽיר׃ | For the director. By David. To bring to remembrance. | Fragment | Assertive | Informing concerning the purpose and author of the psalm | ||||||
| 2 | אֱלֹהִ֥ים לְהַצִּילֵ֑נִי | God, [hurry] to rescue me! | Imperative | Directive | Pleading with YHWH to rescue him | Pleading with YHWH to rescue him | Pleading with YHWH to rescue him without delay | YHWH will hurry to rescue David | |||
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי חֽוּשָֽׁה׃ | YHWH, hurry to my aid! | Imperative | Directive | Pleading with YHWH to help him | |||||||
| 3 | יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ֮ מְבַקְשֵׁ֪י נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | May those who seek my life be disappointed and ashamed! | Imperative | Directive | Requesting that his enemies be ashamed | Requesting that his enemies be ashamed | YHWH will know that David is innocent and does not deserve to be killed. | Any who oppose David will feel shame and disgrace. | YHWH will disappoint and shame those who seek David's life. YHWH will disgrace those who desire David's harm. YHWH will make those who mock David retreat. |
||
| יִסֹּ֣גוּ אָ֭חוֹר וְיִכָּלְמ֑וּ חֲ֝פֵצֵ֗י רָעָתִֽי׃ | May those who desire my harm be turned back and be disgraced! | Imperative | Directive | Requesting that his enemies be turned back | |||||||
| 4 | יָ֭שׁוּבוּ עַל־עֵ֣קֶב בָּשְׁתָּ֑ם הָ֝אֹמְרִ֗ים הֶ֘אָ֥ח ׀ הֶאָֽח׃ | May those who say "Take that!" retreat on account of their shame! | Imperative | Directive | Requesting that his enemies retreat in shame | ||||||
| 5 | יָ֘שִׂ֤ישׂוּ וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ ׀ בְּךָ֗ כָּֽל־מְבַ֫קְשֶׁ֥יךָ | May all those who seek you be glad and rejoice in you! | Imperative | Directive | Requesting that those who seek YHWH would be able to be glad and rejoice | Requesting that those who seek YHWH would be able to be glad and rejoice | The faithful community will agree that YHWH is praiseworthy. YHWH will recognize that David's deliverance will result in the faithful community praising YHWH. |
The faithful community, who love YHWH's salvation, will feel joy in anticipation of YHWH's salvation of David and YHWH's faithful character to rescue them, too. | Those who seek YHWH will be glad and rejoice in YHWH. "YHWH will continue to act in such a way that people will recognize his faithful justice and praise him." |
||
| וְיֹאמְר֣וּ תָ֭מִיד | And may those who love your salvation always say, | Imperative | Directive | Requesting that those who love YHWH's salvation would be able to praise him | |||||||
| יִגְדַּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֹ֝הֲבֵ֗י יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃ | "Let God be praised!" those who love your salvation | ||||||||||
| 6 | וַאֲנִ֤י ׀ עָנִ֣י וְאֶבְיוֹן֮ | But I am poor and needy. | Declarative | Expressive | Lamenting his troubled state | Pleading with YHWH not to delay | The faithful community will know David is identifying with the poor and needy. YHWH will recognize David's humility as he appeals to him as "poor and needy." |
The faithful community will feel hopeful that YHWH will soon rescue David. The faithful community will feel encouraged that David is one of them—poor and needy, who love YHWH's salvation. |
YHWH will hurry to rescue David. | To characterize oneself as poor and needy was "associated with humility," "depend[ing] on help from other people and God" (SDBH), and not taking matters into one's own hands. | |
| אֱלֹהִ֪ים חֽוּשָׁ֫ה־לִּ֥י | God, hurry to me! | Imperative | Directive | Pleading with YHWH to hurry to him | The faithful community conclude YHWH will not delay. YHWH will know that the situation is urgent. |
||||||
| עֶזְרִ֣י וּמְפַלְטִ֣י אַ֑תָּה | You are my help and my deliverer. | Declarative | Assertive | Affirming that YHWH is his help and deliverer | |||||||
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה אַל־תְּאַחַֽר׃ | YHWH, do not delay! | Imperative | Directive | Pleading with YHWH not to delay | |||||||
Emotional Analysis
This layer explores the emotional dimension of the biblical text and seeks to uncover the clues within the text itself that are part of the communicative intent of its author. The goal of this analysis is to chart the basic emotional tone and/or progression of the psalm.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Emotional Analysis Creator Guidelines.
Emotional Analysis Chart
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
| Verse | Text (Hebrew) | Text (CBC) | Proposition (Emotional Analysis) | The Psalmist Feels | Emotional Analysis Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | לַ֝מְנַצֵּ֗חַ לְדָוִ֥ד לְהַזְכִּֽיר׃ | For the director. By David. To bring to remembrance. | |||
| 2 | אֱלֹהִ֥ים לְהַצִּילֵ֑נִי | God, [hurry] to rescue me! | God hurries to rescue David | • David is desperate for YHWH to hurry to his rescue | |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי חֽוּשָֽׁה׃ | YHWH, hurry to my aid! | YHWH hurries to David's aid | |||
| 3 | יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ֮ מְבַקְשֵׁ֪י נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | May those who seek my life be disappointed and ashamed! | Those who seek David's life are disappointed and ashamed | • David is indignant and disgusted by those who seek his life, desiring they be disappointed and ashamed. • David is hopeful that those who desire his harm may retreat in their shame. • "The enemies self-confidently and triumphantly wish infliction on David." |
• The verb בּוּשׁ is "state in which someone has forfeited the respect of the community, due to a situation that is not in accordance to someone's status" (SDBH). |
| יִסֹּ֣גוּ אָ֭חוֹר וְיִכָּלְמ֑וּ חֲ֝פֵצֵ֗י רָעָתִֽי׃ | May those who desire my harm be turned back and be disgraced! | Those who desire David's harm are turned back and disgraced | |||
| 4 | יָ֭שׁוּבוּ עַל־עֵ֣קֶב בָּשְׁתָּ֑ם הָ֝אֹמְרִ֗ים הֶ֘אָ֥ח ׀ הֶאָֽח׃ | May those who say "Take that!" retreat on account of their shame! | Those who mock David retreat | ||
| 5 | יָ֘שִׂ֤ישׂוּ וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ ׀ בְּךָ֗ כָּֽל־מְבַ֫קְשֶׁ֥יךָ | May all those who seek you be glad and rejoice in you! | Those who seek YHWH are glad and rejoice in YHWH | • David is hopeful that, through his deliverance, those who seek YHWH will be glad and rejoice in him. • "Those who seek YHWH praise him enthusiastically." |
|
| וְיֹאמְר֣וּ תָ֭מִיד | And may those who love your salvation always say, | Those who love YHWH's salvation praise YHWH | |||
| יִגְדַּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֹ֝הֲבֵ֗י יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃ | "Let God be praised!" those who love your salvation | ||||
| 6 | וַאֲנִ֤י ׀ עָנִ֣י וְאֶבְיוֹן֮ | But I am poor and needy. | David is poor and needy | • David is desperate for YHWH to hurry to him and not delay. • David is hopeful that, as one who is poor and needy, God, who is his help and deliverer, will not delay. |
• The noun אֶבְיוֹן describes someone who "depends on help from other people and God" (SDBH). |
| אֱלֹהִ֪ים חֽוּשָׁ֫ה־לִּ֥י | God, hurry to me! | God hurries to David | |||
| עֶזְרִ֣י וּמְפַלְטִ֣י אַ֑תָּה | You are my help and my deliverer. | YHWH is David's help and deliverer | |||
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה אַל־תְּאַחַֽר׃ | YHWH, do not delay! | YHWH delays |
Summary Visual
(Click visual to enlarge).
Affective Circumplex
The affective circumplex locates emotions on two axes: (1) positive vs. negative valence; and (2) active vs. passive activation. Since emotional terminology often carries unintended cultural connotations, the purpose of the circumplex is to ease translation of emotions across different languages and cultures.
Bibliography
- Auffret, Pieere. 1987. "«Les oreilles, tu me (les) as ouvertes». Étude Structurelle du Psaume 40(et du Ps 70)," Nouvelle Revue Théologique 109.2: 220–245.
- Firth, David G. 2022. "A Poem in Two Contexts: Psalm 40:14–18 and Psalm 70 in their Canonical Setting," Journal for Semitics 31.2: 12 pages. https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/12042
- Atkinson, Ian. 2025. "Poetic Patterns and Constituent Order in Biblical Hebrew," Hebrew Studies 66: 99–123.
- Croft, William. 2022. Morphosyntax: Constructions of the World's Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Sjörs, Ambjörn. Forthcoming. "Infinitive Construct," in G. Khan (ed.) Cambridge Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Cambridge: University of Cambridge and Open Book Publishers.
- Ibn Ezra, Abraham. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.
- Keel, Othmar. 1997. The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
- Kim, Young Bok. 2022. "Hebrew Forms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Analysis." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago.
- Malbim. Malbim on Psalms.
- Meiri, Menachem. Meiri on Psalms.
- Mowinckel, Sigmund. 1962. The Psalms in Israel’s Worship. Oxford: Blackwell.
- Radak. Radak on Psalms.
- Tate, Marvin E. 1998. Psalms 51-100. Dallas, TX: Word Books.
- Van der Lugt, Pieter. 2010. Cantos and Strophes in Biblical Hebrew Poetry II: Psalms 42-89. Leiden: Brill.
- Weisblit, Shlomo. 1974. "Psalm 70–a Personal Prayer" (Hebrew), Beit Mikra 20.1: 76–78.
Footnotes
- ↑ When the entire utterance is new/unexpected, it is a thetic sentence (often called "sentence focus"). See our Creator Guidelines for more information on topic and focus.
- ↑ Frame setters are any orientational constituent – typically, but not limited to, spatio-temporal adverbials – function to "limit the applicability of the main predication to a certain restricted domain" and "indicate the general type of information that can be given" in the clause nucleus (Krifka & Musan 2012: 31-32). In previous scholarship, they have been referred to as contextualizing constituents (see, e.g., Buth (1994), “Contextualizing Constituents as Topic, Non-Sequential Background and Dramatic Pause: Hebrew and Aramaic evidence,” in E. Engberg-Pedersen, L. Falster Jakobsen and L. Schack Rasmussen (eds.) Function and expression in Functional Grammar. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 215-231; Buth (2023), “Functional Grammar and the Pragmatics of Information Structure for Biblical Languages,” in W. A. Ross & E. Robar (eds.) Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 67-116), but this has been conflated with the function of topic. In brief: sentence topics, belonging to the clause nucleus, are the entity or event about which the clause provides a new predication; frame setters do not belong in the clause nucleus and rather provide a contextual orientation by which to understand the following clause.
- ↑ For further, see Atkinson 2025.
- ↑ See, e.g., NFC: Mon aide et ma sécurité, c'est toi.
- ↑ Kim 2022, 213–217.
- ↑ Kim 2022, 213–217.