Read
Psalm 71:11
saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”
9Don’t reject me in my old age. Don’t forsake me when my strength fails.
10For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together,
11saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”
12God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.
13Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me.
Notice
“God has forsaken him” is the enemies’ claim, used to justify hunting down an aging man whose strength is failing.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What difference does it make that “God has forsaken him” comes from the enemies’ mouths?
Write on thisWhat would you want to ask God after hearing the enemies’ command to pursue and take?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Matthew 27:46About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”Both texts speak of being forsaken by God; the psalm records an enemy’s accusation, while Matthew records Jesus’ cry to God.
Mark 15:34At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken …The word “forsaken” appears in both: enemies claim God has left their victim, while Jesus addresses God from his suffering.
Psalm 3:2Many there are who say of my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah.Both psalms report other people claiming that the threatened person has no help from God.
Psalm 22:8“He trusts in the LORD. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”Both passages record hostile speech about God’s rescue, with enemies either denying that rescue or demanding it in mockery.
Psalm 7:2lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.Both passages describe violent danger and the prospect of having no one to deliver the person under attack.
Psalm 22:1For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and …Both passages speak of being forsaken by God, though Psalm 22 makes this a question addressed to God himself.
Romans 7:24What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death?The shared thread is the need for deliverance; Romans voices personal distress, while the psalm records enemies denying rescue.
Exodus 14:3Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.’In both passages, enemies describe the people they threaten as trapped or unprotected.
2 Kings 18:30Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”Both passages record enemies speaking against confidence in God’s deliverance during a threat.
2 Chronicles 32:11Doesn’t Hezekiah persuade you to give you over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, ‘The LORD our God will deliver us out of the hand of the king of …Both passages use hostile speech to challenge trust in God’s rescue while threatening death or capture.
Daniel 3:15Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which …Both passages pair a threat of violence with words challenging the possibility of divine rescue.
2 Chronicles 32:13–14Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their …Both passages record hostile speech that treats divine rescue as unavailable to those under threat.
Where this verse fits
Aging. injustice and anger. feeling distant from God.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
An enemy’s claim to know God’s mind carries no divine authority. Here, the man they threaten still turns to God for help.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).