Text of prayer Psalm 71
Like all the prayers in the collection, the text of Psalm 71 was written in Hebrew. Later the prayer was translated into all languages of the world. A believer can read Psalm 71 in Russian.
In Church Slavonic with accents
About Solomon, Psalm to David
1 O God, grant Your judgment to the king, and Your righteousness to the king’s son:
2 Judge Your people in righteousness, and Your poor in justice.
3 Let the mountains bring peace to the people, and the hills righteousness.
4 He judges the poor of men, and saves the sons of the needy, and humbles the slanderer.
5 And he will be with the sun, and before the moon there will be generations of generations.
6 It will fall like rain on the fleece, and like a drop falling on the ground.
7 In his days righteousness and much peace will shine until the moon is taken away.
8 And he possesses from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the end of the world.
9 The Ethiopians will fall down before him, and lick his dust.
10 The king of Farsia and the islands will bring gifts, the king of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts:
11 And all the kings of the earth will worship him, all the nations will serve him.
12 For deliver the poor from the strong and the needy, for they have no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and the wretched, and he will save the souls of the needy:
14 He will deliver their souls from usury and from unrighteousness, and his name is honorable before them.
15 And he will live, and some of the gold of Arabia will be given to him, and they will pray for him, and they will bless him all the day.
16 The land will be established on the top of the mountains; its fruit will be exalted more than Lebanon; and it will flourish from the hail like the grass of the earth.
17 His name will be blessed forever; his name abides before the sun, and in him all the tribes of the earth will be blessed, all the nations will make him blessed.
18 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders.
19 And blessed is the name of His glory forever and ever, and the whole earth will be filled with His glory: be, be.
In Russian
About Solomon, a psalm of David.
1 God! Grant Thy judgment to the king and Thy righteousness to the king's son,
2 May He judge Your people and Your poor in righteousness in judgment;
3 Let the mountains bring peace to men and the hills righteousness;
4 May he judge the poor of the people, may he save the sons of the poor and humble the oppressor,
5 And they will fear you as long as the sun and the moon remain throughout all generations.
6 He will come down like rain on a mown meadow, like drops that water the earth;
7 In his days the righteous will prosper, and there will be abundance of peace until the moon ceases;
8 He will possess from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth;
9 The inhabitants of the desert will fall before him, and his enemies will lick the dust;
10 The kings of Tarshish and the islands will give him tribute; the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts;
11 And all kings will worship him; all nations will serve him;
12 For he will deliver the poor, the crying, and the oppressed, who has no helper.
13 He will be merciful to the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy;
14 He will deliver their souls from deceit and violence, and their blood will be precious in his sight;
15 And he will live, and they will give him from the gold of Arabia, and they will pray for him without ceasing, and bless him every day;
16 There will be an abundance of grain on the earth, on the top of the mountains; its fruits will grow like the forest of Lebanon, and people will multiply in the cities like grass on the earth;
17 His name will be blessed forever; as long as the sun remains, his name will be transmitted; and in him all the families of the earth will be blessed, all nations will make him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wonders,
19 And blessed is the name of His glory forever, and the whole earth will be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.
We read the Psalter. Psalm 71
Audio |
Conversation with Archpriest Alexy Ladygin about the Psalter.
We continue to study the Psalter and today we will talk about the 71st Psalm. It has the following inscription: about Solomon, psalm to David, 71 and, according to the statements of the holy fathers, is prophetic. And although he has an inscription that David dedicates the psalm to his son Solomon (what we will hear in this psalm, to some extent, applies to Solomon, as the holy fathers say), but still he fully prophesies about the Coming of Christ the Savior to earth, about how all the peoples of the Earth will accept Him, worship Him and bring Him their gifts. The psalm is amazing, deep, and very clearly testifies to the coming of Christ the Savior to earth. We have talked more than once about the fact that every psalm, like all Holy Scripture, has not only a literal meaning, but also a mysterious one. And this mysterious secrecy is precisely hidden in this psalm in various images and words. Anyone who knows the Holy Scriptures begins to understand that we are talking about the Divine Incarnation.
“God, grant Thy judgment to the king, and Thy righteousness to the king’s son.” The King here is called the Son of God, Who came to earth. To the Tsar's son: who is the Tsar's son? The son of the king is, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ: He not only became incarnate from God the Father, but, most importantly, in the earthly understanding, Christ appeared from the family of the king - He appears in the family of King David.
“Judge Your people in righteousness, and Your poor in justice. Let the mountains bring peace to people, and let the hills bring righteousness.” People who are ignorant are called beggars, but then they will become Christians and will have spiritual poverty, who themselves, as the holy fathers say, become poor in order to serve the Lord and be with Him. That is why the prophet calls them that here. The Lord will judge His people in righteousness, that is, He will show judgment to everyone according to the life that he will lead. “Let the mountains bring peace to men, and let the hills bring righteousness.” Here mountains and hills are spoken of as a certain elevation above the earth, which embrace the entire earth. The Lord who will come will bring peace to His people and truth into our lives, and this peace will spread not only in a certain place, but throughout the entire Universe.
“He judges the poor of men, and saves the sons of the needy, and humbles the slanderer.” The entire human race is called poor, and those who believe in Christ are called poor. He will humble the slanderer - that means he will humble the enemy of the human race, he will humble the demons who do lies and create all kinds of slander: the Holy Scripture always calls the enemy of the human race a slanderer.
“And he will remain with the sun and before the moon for generations.” When we say that the psalm has both a literal and a mysterious meaning, then we can attribute some verses of this psalm to Solomon - and he was the son of a king (as it says in the first verse, “and your righteousness to the king’s son”), he also carried out trial of people. But this verse (and will abide with the sun, and before the moon of the generation of generations) tells us Who will abide with the sun - Who will abide forever on the earth, or Who appeared even before the sun - this is our Lord Jesus Christ: He was always and forever, and before the moon of the generation of generations. Again, the Psalmist prophesies about the originlessness and eternity of the Son of God, that is, He was before the moon of the generation of generations - long before the appearance of the moon.
“It will fall like rain on a fleece, and like a drop dripping on the ground.” This is the story of how the Lord became incarnate and came to earth. After all, you can’t hear the rain falling on the wool at all: it softens the fall of the rain. When it starts to rain and an occasional drop drips, you can’t hear it either. So the appearance of Christ was completely inaudible. When the Lord came to earth, it was not some kind of element, there was no talk: He came completely quietly to this earth. And it is about His humble Incarnation, Coming to earth that the Psalmist prophesies, saying how He was quietly and humbly born of the Most Pure Virgin Mary: so that the earth did not even hear His Coming.
“In his days righteousness and abundance of peace will shine until the moon is taken away.” Here it is testified that Christ will exist forever and in His days there will be righteousness and much peace on earth. Peace is grace, it is godliness that will appear in the hearts of people.
“And he has from sea to sea, and from rivers to the end of the world.” What will the Lord have? The entire Universe. The whole earth will accept Him, the whole earth will hear the preaching of Christ. Why is it said “from the rivers”? What river are we talking about? In Hebrew, Jordan was always referred to in the plural. Therefore, the holy fathers believe that the river here is called the Jordan. And “from the rivers to the end of the world” - because from the Jordan began the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ (in it He was baptized and the Holy Spirit visibly descended on Him), and then His ministry spread to the end of the universe through the preaching of the holy apostles, who They go to the end of the universe, preaching about the Risen Christ.
“The Ethiopians will fall down before him, and the enemies will lick his dust.” Who will come? Of course, all the peoples of the earth. By Ethiopians (Ethiopians) we mean all the pagan peoples who will come and worship Christ and fall at His feet. At the same time, the holy fathers say that the Ethiopians can also be understood as the enemy of the human race, who will also fall at the feet of the incarnate Christ the Savior. And the enemies will lick his dust. What does it mean to lick or gnaw the ground? Of course, they will all be defeated and thrown to the ground. When a person is wounded, and his wound is mortal, he gnaws the ground in pain: the Psalmist shows such a comparison of the death torment, the death struggle, and compares with this the fall of the enemy of the human race, the demons, who will not be able to do anything, but will be defeated by the word of Divine truth and earthly ministry of our Lord.
“The kings of Tharsia and the islands will bring gifts, the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts.” Who will accept Christ? How will He be received on earth? Here the Psalmist prophesies about Christ the Savior and tells how this ministry will take place. The service will be great and strong - all the kingdoms of the world will accept Him, not only as the Divine Infant Christ, but as the True God, Who suffered for all humanity and thereby brought salvation to earth and to every person. Therefore, all the kings will bring Him their gifts and their worship - “the kings of Tharsia and the islands that are spread out in the sea.” That is, not a single, even remote, piece of earth will be left without the preaching of Christ, and everyone will offer their service, their correction, the construction of churches of God, and so on, as a gift to the Lord. “The kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts.” Sava is one of the cities of India, as the holy fathers say. This is how the Psalmist David prophesies about Christ the Savior.
“And all the kings of the earth will worship him, all the nations will work for him. For if you had delivered the poor from the strong and the wretched, there would be no helper for your husband.” All kings will bow to Christ the Savior. In ancient times, not only heads of state were called kings - the one who headed the city, the mayor, some prince was also called the king: this is the one who had a certain power over a certain number of people. So again the Psalmist shows that all the kings of the earth, all the kingdoms of the earth (great and small) will worship our Savior: “All the nations will work for him” - Christ will enlighten not only a certain part of the people, but will enlighten the whole Universe, all the peoples of the earth with the word of His Divine truth. And we know that there are Christians in every nation, therefore the worship of Christ is offered and will be offered even until the end of our lives. We see that among distant peoples who had their own cultures, the Christian faith is born, and most importantly, a certain number of Christians appear. Today the number of Christians is increasing even in China, where there were few of them. Today there are officially 250,000,000 who profess the Christian faith.
“For deliver the poor from the strong and the wretched, so that the man has no helper.” From whom will the Lord deliver His people - those who accepted Christ and confess Christ? From the strong - this is the name of the enemy of the human race, who caused enormous evil to people and did not take into account man, using all possible means and his enormous strength against man. And the Lord, by His Coming, delivered humanity from the limitless influence of the enemy of the human race on all nations - those who become (and will become) Christians, says the Psalmist, will be under the special protection of God, and the Lord will help them.
“He will spare the poor and the wretched, and save the souls of the wretched” - the Lord will save all nations, and the poor too. Those who were not related to the chosen people, were pagans and became Christians were usually called beggars. The Psalmist says about them: poverty will spare them - like people who had no virtue in themselves. The Lord will also have mercy on the poor. Who are called poor? The chosen Jewish people are called poor, who were rejected by the Lord because they rejected Him: and He will save the souls of the poor.
“He will deliver their souls from usury and from unrighteousness, and his name is honorable before them.” Whose name is honest? Of course, Christ. For Christians, there is no greater and higher name in the entire Universe - as the holy Apostle Paul says, every knee will worship Christ, and in this worship the name of Christ will be glorified - it is higher, more glorious, because the Lord brings salvation to earth, He will deliver souls from all unrighteousness, from everything superfluous and superficial that a person does not need, calling them to a worthy, grace-filled life in Christ Jesus.
“And he will live, and some of the gold of Arabia will be given to him: and they will pray for him and bless him all the day long.” The name of God will live forever, and every Christian calls on the name of the Lord. And he will be given from the gold of Arabia: here the holy prophet David, in the words of the holy fathers, prophesies that the wise men will come, worship Him and bring gifts from the gold of Arabia. There really was a lot of gold in the Arabian Desert, and at that time it was famous for it. But, again, the holy fathers speak more about the mysterious meaning: who will bring this gold, and what will it be? This is the wealth that will be expressed through the organization of the Churches and through the sacrifice that kings and peoples will bring to the temple of God, so that the name of God will be glorified and the holy Churches of God will be prospered.
“The land will be established on the top of the mountains: its fruit will be exalted more than Lebanon, and they will flourish from hail like the grass of the earth” - everywhere on earth there will be an establishment of Christianity, not only where there is a plain, where it is quiet, but even on the tops of the mountains: we know that many ascetics labored on the mountains, thereby glorifying the name of Christ, and some even built temples and monasteries on the tops of the mountains... “His fruit will be exalted more than Lebanon.” Lebanon is the highest mountain and it is always snow-white. The fruit, of course, is both Christians and the faith of Christ, and faith will be spread throughout the universe. And they will flourish from the hail like the grass of the earth. Here again it is said that many people will accept Christianity: just as grass dots the earth in huge quantities, sprouts and thereby creates earthly beauty, so Christians, accepting the faith of Christ, also become the salt of the earth and decorate it through a virtuous life, the feat that they bring to your Divine Teacher. And this feat lies in a virtuous life.
“His name will be blessed forever; his name will endure before the sun; and in him all the tribes of the earth will be blessed, all the nations will call him blessed.” If we are talking about blessing, then the name of God will be blessed, glorified, because His name (here again the prophecy of the Psalmist is especially important) was before the sun: the sun was not yet created, but His name was. Of course, here we are talking about the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity - the Son of God, and His name will be blessed, through Him the name of the Heavenly Father will be blessed, and in Him all the tribes of the earth will be blessed. All the nations will please him; all the nations of the earth will glorify the name of the Lord.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, He alone works wonders.” Here the psalmist David already sends blessing to the Lord for the fact that He works great, glorious miracles: He Himself comes to this earth and redeems the human race from sin, curse and death. This is the essence of the great miracles that the Lord performs: there is no greater miracle than the Incarnation itself, His Coming to earth - no one can do more than this, because in this miracle lies the love of God for the entire human race.
“And blessed is the name of His glory forever and ever: and the whole earth will be filled with His glory: be, be.” Here the Psalmist calls us to bless the name of the Lord and glorify Him forever and ever, that is, from age to age, because the Lord has shown such mercy. And through the glorification of the name of God we will draw closer to His grace, and then the whole earth will be filled with His glory - through the glorification of the name of the Lord the whole earth will be sanctified and glorified, so that the Kingdom of God will be on earth. Be, be, that is, come quickly, Lord, do what You have planned, because You so loved the human race. And through these words “wake up, wake up,” the psalmist David also says: Amen, amen - truly so, that what the Lord has planned may come to pass.
Here is such an amazing psalm, testifying to the Coming of Christ the Savior to earth, that all nations will accept Him and in every nation there will be Christians who will rejoice in the life that the Lord brought - a virtuous life, a life according to the commandments of God, a life which will give them special communication with the Lord. And all the kingdoms of the earth will bring gifts to Him - not only through the visible and material, but more through the spiritual life that Christians all over the world will live. And visible gifts are also brought through the construction of holy temples, through the affirmation of what Christianity glorifies, and we know what it glorifies: this is art, culture, and everything else that is connected with Christ and His Coming to earth.
Thank you all, dear brothers and sisters, for our joint conversation, and God willing, see you again.
Recorded by Nina Kirsanova
History of writing
There are two versions of Psalm 71. The first version states that the text was written to King David about the future of his son Solomon. At the end of his years and his reign, the king wanted to see his best son and heir, who was Solomon, at the head of the country. David asks the Lord for intelligence and wisdom so that his reign will be easy. The psalm describes his great reign, fair trials, how many nations served Solomon faithfully and faithfully.
But if you believe another version, the Jewish one, this is a letter from Solomon. It is said that it was during the reign of Solomon that the text appeared and depicts his ideal reign.
Why read Psalm 71?
Some believers who are just beginning to read the psalms may not know why they read Psalm 71. The prayer is read most often during the harvest from fields and gardens. As soon as the fruits are brought into the house, the text of the psalm is read by the whole family. The Lord necessarily blesses the gifts of the earth brought. You can turn to God with a word of prayer:
- With gratitude to the Lord;
- With a request for blessings;
- For success in your endeavors and affairs;
- In case of financial difficulties.
Interpretation of Psalm 71
Let us consider the interpretation of the psalm by turning to its individual verses:
- Verse 1: The psalm begins with King Solomon himself, his belief that only God could help him be a great ruler. After all, if Solomon is a just and peaceful ruler, then the Lord rewarded him with this.
- Verse 2: King Solomon is shown as the Lord's vicegerent. And it is through this that he can rule over God's people.
- Verse 3: Let the world have abundance.
- Verse 4: The Lord has always protected the poor and the believers. Of course, King Solomon must adhere to God’s canons.
- Verses 5-7: The sun and moon remain unchanged for the people from generation to generation. They are a symbol of eternity. May a just king rule his people forever. May his reign be peaceful, honest and beneficial.
- Verses 8-10: If the king is the Lord's vicegerent, then let his dominion expand to cover the whole world. All savage nations will fall, and all enemies will show respect to the great king. East and West will unite in a single faith in their king.
- Verses 11-15: The king will be able to rule the whole world, but he must be conquered not by force, but by peaceful means. So that all nations submit voluntarily. The great king will protect believers, help the poor, bring goodness, justice and faith. The Tsar values every inhabitant of his vast country.
- Verses 16-17: If the king controls all the lands, then hostility between the nations will cease. A new era will come in which there will be no place for suffering and evil. Each resident will create beauty, his efforts are aimed at creating a new culture. By joining forces, people will be able to cultivate even infertile soil and get a rich harvest. In many cities the population will increase several times. Prosperity will come to every home during the reign of the ruler.
- Verses 18-19: Not the words of the author of the prayers himself. They were added by the compilers to honor the Lord and the deeds of the great king.
Interpretation of the church meaning of the text of Psalm 71
no comments
In the Orthodox Bible, the text of Psalm 71 is preceded by the inscription “David’s psalm about Solomon,” which immediately gives us an idea of its content. This psalm is King David’s prayer for his son and heir to the throne, in which he asks God to grant Solomon wisdom to rule the state and carry out a fair trial on people. The interpretation of Psalm 71 tells that the prophet David had nineteen sons only from his legitimate wives, not counting concubines, but he had a special relationship with Solomon, since he was the son of his beloved wife, Bathsheba. It was him who he appointed as heir to the throne, despite the fact that Solomon was one of his youngest sons.
Prayer Psalm 71 to help gardeners and gardeners
Very often, interpreters write that Christian Psalm 71 is a prophetic psalm. Indeed, in his text, David describes all the traits of Solomon that glorified him as an outstanding ruler: wisdom and patience. In Psalm 71, the king predicts that all nations will serve his successor: so it was; during Solomon’s life, the kingdom of Israel maintained its unity, but almost immediately after his death, riots began, and the state broke up into Israel and Judah. It has long been recommended to read and listen to the text of the Orthodox Psalm 71 over the harvest brought home, so that God would bless it.
Listen to the video of the Orthodox prayer Psalm 71 in Russian
Read the text of Christian Psalm 71 in Russian
About Solomon. Psalm of David.
God! grant to Thy king judgment, and to Thy king's son righteousness, that he may judge Thy people and Thy poor in righteousness in judgment; may the mountains bring peace to people and the hills bring righteousness; may He judge the poor of the people, may He save the sons of the poor and humble the oppressor, and they will fear You as long as the sun and the moon endure throughout all generations. He will fall like rain on a mown meadow, like drops watering the earth; in his days the righteous will prosper, and there will be abundance of peace until the moon ceases; he will possess from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth; the inhabitants of the desert will fall before him, and his enemies will lick the dust; the kings of Tarshish and the islands will bring him tribute; the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts; and all kings will worship him; all nations will serve him; for he will deliver the poor, the crying and the oppressed, who has no helper. He will be merciful to the poor and the wretched, and will save the souls of the wretched; He will deliver their souls from deceit and violence, and their blood will be precious in his sight; and he will live, and they will give him from the gold of Arabia, and they will pray for him unceasingly, and bless him every day; there will be an abundance of grain on the earth, on top of the mountains; its fruits will grow like the forest of Lebanon, and people will multiply in the cities like grass on the earth; His name will be blessed forever; as long as the sun remains, his name will be transmitted; and in him all the families of the earth will be blessed, all nations will make him blessed. Blessed is the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone works miracles, and blessed is the name of His glory forever, and the whole earth will be filled with His glory. Amen and amen. The prayers of David, son of Jesse, ended.
Orthodox Psalter, text of Psalm 71 in Church Slavonic language
God, grant your judgment to the king, and your righteousness to the king’s son; judge your people in righteousness and your poor in justice. May the mountains bring peace to people and the hills bring truth. He judges the poor of men, and saves the sons of the poor, and humbles the slanderer. And he will remain with the sun and before the moon for generations. It will fall like rain on the fleece, and like a drop dripping on the ground. In his days truth and abundance of peace will rise, until the moon is gone. And it has from sea to sea, and from rivers to the end of the world. The Ethiopians will fall before him, and the enemies will lick his dust. The kings of Persia and the islands will bring gifts, the kings of Arabia and Saba will bring gifts; and all the kings of the earth will worship him, all the nations will work for him. For if the poor had been delivered from the strong and the wretched, there would be no helper for the man. He will spare the poor and the wretched, and save the souls of the wretched; He will deliver their souls from usury and from unrighteousness, and His name is honorable before them. And he will live, and some of the gold of Arabia will be given to him; and they will pray for him and bless him all day long. There will be a claim on the lands on the tops of the mountains; its fruit will be exalted more than Lebanon, and the hail will flourish like the grass of the earth. His name will be blessed forever; his name will endure before the sun; and in him all the tribes of the earth will be blessed, all the nations will make him blessed. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who alone works miracles, and blessed is the name of his glory forever and ever; and the whole earth will be filled with his glory; wake up, wake up.
