Psalm 71 6

Psalm 71:6 kjv

By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

Psalm 71:6 nkjv

By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You.

Psalm 71:6 niv

From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you.

Psalm 71:6 esv

Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.

Psalm 71:6 nlt

Yes, you have been with me from birth;
from my mother's womb you have cared for me.
No wonder I am always praising you!

Psalm 71 verses

Psalm 71 6 Meaning

Psalm 71:6 proclaims the psalmist’s absolute and continuous dependence on God from the moment of his birth, highlighting God's active role in bringing him into existence and sustaining him throughout his life. This foundational understanding of divine care serves as the bedrock for the psalmist's commitment to continually praise God. The verse establishes a deep, personal history between God and the individual, where God is acknowledged as the sole orchestrator of life and its ongoing preservation, prompting unceasing adoration.

Psalm 71 6 Context

Psalm 71 is a fervent prayer of an aged individual, widely believed to be David, in a time of deep distress and personal attack. He faces formidable adversaries who seek his life and question God's abandonment of him. The psalm is a desperate cry for deliverance rooted in a lifetime of intimate communion with God. The historical context reflects a king or leader possibly in old age, vulnerable and reliant solely on the Lord's proven faithfulness. This specific verse (71:6) acts as a theological foundation for his present plea: because God has demonstrated such profound, pre-conscious care and support from the very beginning of his existence, the psalmist is confident that God will continue to uphold him in his current time of weakness and old age. It is a remembrance of God's past unfailing goodness as the basis for present and future trust and unwavering praise, even when faced with grave threats.

Psalm 71 6 Word analysis

• From You have I been sustained (ʿāleḵā nismakəttî):

  • ʿāleḵā (עָלֶיךָ): Literally "upon You" or "on You." This emphasizes absolute reliance and dependence, indicating the psalmist's posture of leaning entirely on God.
  • nismakəttî (נִסְמַכְתִּי): Niphal perfect of samak (סָמַךְ), meaning "to lean upon," "support," "sustain," "establish." The Niphal stem suggests a passive action ("I have been sustained/supported") or a reflexive one ("I have rested/leaned myself"). Here, it strongly conveys God's active role in providing support from birth, implying that the psalmist's very existence and strength are directly from divine action.

• from my birth (mērāḥem):

  • mērāḥem (מֵרָ֑חֶם): "from the womb." This signifies the earliest possible moment of life, emphasizing God's care predating the psalmist's conscious awareness or ability to choose faith. It underlines the sovereignty of God's foundational care.

• You are He who took me (ʾattâ gôzəlî):

  • ʾattâ (אַתָּ֥ה): Emphatic "You." This direct, second-person singular pronoun stresses God's personal and unique involvement. No one else performed this act.
  • gôzəlî (גוֹזְלִֽי): Participle of gazal (גָּזַל). While gazal can mean "to snatch away," "rob," or "tear away" in some contexts, here, in the context of birth, it refers to God's act of "drawing out," "delivering," or "bringing forth" from the mother's womb. It implies God’s decisive and sovereign act of midwifery, emphasizing His power and deliberate care in bringing the individual into life, separating him from the confinement of the womb. It highlights a unique divine role.

• from my mother's womb (mimməʿê ʾimmî):

  • mimməʿê ʾimmî (מִמְּעֵ֥י אִ֝מִּ֗י): Literally "from the bowels/inward parts of my mother." A common Hebrew poetic idiom referring specifically to the mother's womb. It reiterates the point made by mērāḥem (from the womb), adding further emphasis and a personal touch.

• My praise is continually of You (T'hillātî bəḵā tāmîd):

  • T'hillātî (תְּהִלָּתִ֣י): "My praise." From tehillah (תְּהִלָּה), a comprehensive term for adoration, renown, and acclamation. It is the very root from which the Hebrew name for the Book of Psalms (Tehillim) derives.
  • bəḵā (בְ֭ךָ): "in/to/of You." This preposition indicates that God is both the subject and object of the praise – the praise is for Him, stems from Him, and finds its focus in Him.
  • tāmîd (תָּמִ֑יד): "continually," "always," "perpetually." This adverb underscores the unending nature of the praise, linking it directly to the continuous, foundational care God has provided from birth onward. It signifies a lifestyle of ongoing worship and gratitude.

• Words-group Analysis:

  • "From You have I been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb.": These two parallel clauses articulate God's ultimate sovereignty over life. They establish a covenantal memory of divine grace active even before consciousness. This is the psalmist's foundational theological premise, on which his present faith and future hope are built.
  • "My praise is continually of You.": This is the direct response and commitment that arises from the recognition of God's profound, lifelong care. It signifies that the proper response to such unwavering divine faithfulness is a perpetual life of gratitude and worship. The sustained action of God elicits the sustained reaction of praise.

Psalm 71 6 Bonus section

• Foundation for Identity: The verse provides a theological bedrock for human identity, asserting that our worth and existence are rooted in God's deliberate creative and sustaining action. Before any human recognition or self-awareness, God was actively involved in sustaining and delivering the psalmist, underscoring innate dignity and value as divinely purposed beings.
• A Pre-Womb Relationship: The concept that God sustains "from birth" and "took me from my mother's womb" implies an intimate relationship that predates conscious choice or personal action. This reflects God's active knowledge and care of individuals even before their public manifestation, as seen in Jeremiah 1:5.
• Echoes of Jesus Christ: While directly about the psalmist, this verse's deep dependence on God from birth can be seen as foreshadowing Christ's perfect dependence on His Father from His incarnation to His ascension. Jesus, the Son, perfectly embodied this trust and offered continual praise and obedience, fulfilling the deepest essence of such dependency on God.
• A Call to Remembering: This verse is a powerful call for believers to regularly remember and reflect on God's foundational care from their earliest moments. Such reflection strengthens faith, especially in trials and old age, reminding us that the God who sovereignly brought us into existence is faithful to complete His work in us.
• Continuity of Grace: The linking of God's care from the womb to "continual praise" illustrates the beautiful continuity of God's grace and human response throughout a lifespan. The initial act of creation and sustenance is met with an ongoing life of worship, signifying a perpetual relationship.

Psalm 71 6 Commentary

Psalm 71:6 stands as a profound testament to God's intimate and sovereign involvement in every human life, beginning even before conscious existence. The psalmist asserts an unbroken chain of divine support and activity from his earliest moments, declaring, "From You have I been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb." This is not a passive observation but an emphatic declaration of God as the ultimate source of life and sustenance. The powerful imagery of being "taken" or "drawn out" from the womb by God underscores His direct, personal, and decisive agency in bringing the individual into being. This fundamental truth—that one's very existence is a gift nurtured by God from conception—forms an irrefutable argument for continuous trust. Because God initiated life and provided care when the individual was utterly helpless and unknowing, the psalmist posits that He can certainly be trusted in present difficulties, even in old age. The verse culminates in the psalmist's vowed response: "My praise is continually of You." This unwavering commitment to lifelong praise is not merely a grateful utterance but a deep theological conclusion. It flows logically from the recognition of God's unfailing, proactive care from the womb to the present. The constant nature of God's sustaining work demands an equally constant, perpetual posture of adoration and worship. This verse teaches that our existence itself is an ongoing testimony to God's faithfulness, and thus our lives ought to be an unending offering of praise to Him, regardless of circumstance.