Psalms 70 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Key Background

This psalm is almost word for word the closing section of Psalm 40, which shows that Israel's worship collection reused and re-edited material, the way a hymnbook might print one verse of a longer hymn as a standalone chorus. The heading links it to the memorial portion of a grain offering, the handful burned on the altar to bring the worshipper to God's attention, which fits a prayer whose whole point is asking to be noticed quickly. Its extreme shortness is the design, giving worshippers something usable when there is no time for a long approach.