Psalm 5 → 71
Reasoning: 7744 Output: 6739 Total: 14483
Argument
Here are lines of argument that make Psalm 71 read naturally as a “next chapter” to Psalm 5. I group them by form, theme, and Hebrew verbal links, and I flag what is strongest by your criteria (identical forms > same word class > same root > semantic similarity; rarer items weigh more). 1) Macro-form and “plot” continuity - Same genre and prayer-flow: Both are first-person individual laments that mix petition, reasons-for-hearing, confidence, and vow of praise. Psalm 5 is a morning plea for guidance and protection from deceitful enemies; Psalm 71 is a mature plea (now in old age) for continued deliverance from conspiring enemies, with expanded vows to praise publicly. Narrative logic: what is begged “in the morning” of life and of the day in Psalm 5 is lived, tested, and publicly declared “all day” and “to old age” in Psalm 71. - Life-cycle progression: Psalm 5 fits a young, temple-going petitioner at daybreak seeking guidance and protection. Psalm 71 explicitly locates the same sort of petitioner later in life (from youth to gray hair; 71:5–6, 9, 17–18), still harried by enemies but now focused on transmitting praise to the next generation (71:18). That is a plausible life-sequence. - Worship trajectory: Psalm 5 culminates in assurance for “all who take refuge in you” with joy and song (5:12–13). Psalm 71 is precisely the fulfilled voice of that community/individual, “my mouth will be filled with your praise… my lips will shout,” with musical instruments (71:8, 22–23). So 71 enacts the praise envisioned at the end of 5. 2) Stylistic and structural parallels - Ear–mouth soundscape: - Psalm 5 opens with “Give ear… understand my meditation… listen to the voice of my cry” (5:2–3). - Psalm 71 answers with “Incline your ear to me” (71:2) and turns the soundscape outward: “My mouth will be filled with your praise” (71:8), “My mouth will recount” (71:15), “My lips will shout” (71:23), “My tongue will meditate” (71:24). The petitioner whose speech God hears in 5 becomes the one whose speech proclaims God in 71. This is not just thematic; it’s a tightly bound auditory rhetoric across the pair. - Morning vs. all day: - Psalm 5: “In the morning you hear my voice… in the morning I arrange for you and watch” (5:4). - Psalm 71: “All day” recurs thrice (71:8, 15, 24). The horizon widens from the day’s beginning to the day in full, a natural development. - Petition + imprecation: - Psalm 5 petitions and asks for the downfall of the wicked (5:11). - Psalm 71 petitions and asks God to shame/consume adversaries (71:13). Same form-critical moves, now voiced by the older psalmist. 3) Strong lexical bonds (Hebrew), ordered by strength Identical forms or near-identical collocations - חסה “to take refuge” with בך “in you” and YHWH as addressee: - Psalm 5:12 חֹוסֵי בָךְ “those who take refuge in you” - Psalm 71:1 בְּךָ יְהוָה חָסִיתִי “In you, YHWH, I have taken refuge” This is a high-value anchor: same root, same preposition, same addressee; 71 makes personal and perfect-tense what 5 declared generally. - צִדְקָתְךָ “your righteousness” as God’s operative agency: - Psalm 5:9 נְחֵנִי בְצִדְקָתֶךָ “Lead me in your righteousness” - Psalm 71:2 בְּצִדְקָתְךָ תַצִּילֵנִי “In your righteousness deliver me”; plus 71:15, 16, 19, 24 repeat צִדְקָתֶךָ Same noun with 2ms suffix; 71 multiplies what 5 requests once, turning “lead me” (5) into “deliver me” and “I will recount” (71), i.e., petition → experience → testimony. - רנן “shout/sing for joy”: - Psalm 5:12 יְרַנֵּנוּ “they will shout for joy” - Psalm 71:23 תְּרַנֵּנָּה “will shout for joy” (my lips) Same root, same praise idiom; what 5 anticipates for “all who take refuge” comes from the psalmist’s own lips in 71. - אָבוֹא “I will come” (1cs imperfect): - Psalm 5:8 אָבוֹא בֵיתֶךָ “I will enter your house” - Psalm 71:16 אָבוֹא בִגְבוּרוֹת אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה “I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord YHWH” Identical verb form, now shifting the locus from physical sanctuary (5) to carrying God’s mighty deeds into testimony (71) — consistent with age/stage change. - לשון “tongue” as instrument of either deceit or praise: - Psalm 5:10 לְשׁוֹנָם יַחֲלִיקוּן “their tongue flatters” - Psalm 71:24 לְשׁוֹנִי … תֶהְגֶּה צִדְקָתֶךָ “my tongue will meditate your righteousness” Same noun, contrasting uses: the problem stated in 5 is inverted in 71 as the psalmist’s tongue becomes the medium of God’s righteousness. - יעץ “counsel/conspire”: - Psalm 5:11 יִפְּלוּ מִמּוֹעֲצֹתֵיהֶם “let them fall by their own counsels” - Psalm 71:10 נוֹעֲצוּ יַחְדָּו “they have conspired together” Same root; 71 presents the counsel (of enemies) that 5 asked God to overturn — a narrative follow-on. - פי “mouth”: - Psalm 5:10 אֵין בְּפִיהוּ נְכוֹנָה “there is nothing reliable in his mouth” - Psalm 71:8, 15 יִמָּלֵא פִּי תְהִלָּתֶךָ; פִּי יְסַפֵּר “my mouth will be filled with your praise; my mouth will recount” Direct foil: wicked mouth vs. praising mouth. Shared roots or closely bound semantic fields - האזן/הטה אוזן “give ear / incline your ear”: - Psalm 5:2 הַאֲזִינָה “give ear” - Psalm 71:2 הַטֵּה… אָזְנְךָ “incline your ear” Same auditory plea, near-synonymous verbal pair. - ק־ד־ש “holy”: - Psalm 5:8 הֵיכַל־קָדְשֶׁךָ “your holy temple” - Psalm 71:22 קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל “the Holy One of Israel” Same holiness root; worship setting in 5 shifts to a divine title in 71 — fitting the move from temple approach to proclamation. - רשע / איש דמים ומרמה (5:7) || רָשָׁע / מְעַוֶּל / חֹמֵץ (71:4): Matching enemy set: violent, deceitful, unjust. 71 expands the lexicon but keeps the same social threat. - סכך “cover” (5:12 וְתָסֵךְ עֲלֵיהֶם) vs. סבב “surround/turn” (71:21 וְתִסֹּב תְּנַחֲמֵנִי): Different roots, same protective-surrounding image. - Hope/wait lexemes: - Psalm 5:4 וַאֲצַפֶּה “I will watch (wait expectantly)” - Psalm 71:14 אֲנִי תָּמִיד אֲיַחֵל “I will hope continually” Not the same root, but the same posture moves from dawn-anticipation to lifelong hope. 4) Thematic escalations that make 71 a fulfillment of 5 - Guidance in righteousness → testimony of righteousness: - 5:9 asks “lead me in your righteousness.” - 71 responds by publicly recounting “your righteousness” all day (vv. 15–16, 19, 24). The object of petition becomes the content of proclamation. - House-entry → Rock-habitation and lifelong refuge: - 5:8 “I will enter your house.” - 71:3 “Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come,” plus “you are my refuge of strength” (71:7). The place of nearness to God matures from temple approach to an abiding refuge through life’s seasons. - God vs. deceitful speech → God through truthful praise: - 5:10–11 laments deceitful throats/tongues and prays for God to condemn. - 71 pivots to the psalmist’s own mouth, lips, and tongue as channels of God’s praise, with the enemies’ “counsel” (71:10) and shame (71:13, 24) mirroring 5’s requested outcome. - Petition for protection → testimony after many rescues: - 5 is an initial plea; 71 recounts a history: “You have taught me from my youth” (71:17), “from birth” (71:6), “even to old age and gray hair” (71:18), “you have shown me many troubles… you will revive me” (71:20). The sought deliverance of 5 is the experienced pattern of 71. 5) Socio-religious plausibility - Daily piety: Psalm 5 fits the morning Tamid setting and an early approach to prayer; Psalm 71’s “all day” recitation and instrumented praise fit ongoing temple/song service or personal vow performance. - Life-stage catechesis: Moving from individual prayer for guidance (5) to elder testimony to the next generation (71:18) reflects the Deuteronomic/psalmic pedagogy of Israel (cf. Ps 78), i.e., the prayerful youth becomes the praising elder who teaches God’s deeds. 6) Particularly weighty matches (by your criteria) - Highest: חסה + בך + YHWH (5:12; 71:1), identical root and collocation. - High: repeated צִדְקָתְךָ with 2ms suffix (5:9; 71:2, 15, 16, 19, 24). - High: identical verbal form אָבוֹא (5:8; 71:16). - High: רנן in praise settings (5:12; 71:23). - Medium-high: יעץ root in hostile “counsel” (5:11 noun; 71:10 verb). - Medium-high: לשון as pivot of evil vs. praise (5:10; 71:24). - Medium: האזין/הטה אוזן auditory formula (5:2; 71:2). - Medium: ק־ד־ש holiness language (5:8; 71:22). Conclusion Read this way, Psalm 71 makes narrative, liturgical, and lexical sense as a sequel to Psalm 5: the dawn petition for guidance and protection among deceitful plotters (5) yields, after a lifetime of God’s righteous deliverances, a mature voice that hopes continually, rebuts the enemies’ counsel, and fills the day with praise (71). The repeated collocations and rare/shared roots (especially חסה בך; צִדְקָתְךָ; אָבוֹא; רנן; יעץ; לשון) give the linkage real linguistic weight, while the life-stage and worship-setting trajectories supply the logic.
Evaluation
Score: 6.5
Evaluated at: 2025-11-15T03:30:13 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 3520 Output: 7572 Total: 11092
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 4.0 / 10
Multiple precise links (חסה בך; בצדקתך; רנן; אבוא; יעץ; לשון) and ‘morning’→‘all day’ shift. But these lexemes/formulas are common; Ps 71 echoes Ps 31 verbatim. No counterarguments addressed. No caps triggered.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 5 and Psalm 71 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 71 logically follows on from Psalm 5? Consider stylistic similarities, similarities of form, similarities of vocab or ideas, shared roots (if you're doing the search in Hebrew), connections to sequences of events common in ancient Israelite life, mythology or history shared by the two psalms.
Rarer words are more significant than commoner words. Identical forms are more significant than similar forms. The same word class is more significant than different word classes formed from the same root. Identical roots are more significant than suppletive roots.
Psalm 5:
Psalm 5
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
אֶֽל־
הַנְּחִיל֗וֹת
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. אֲמָרַ֖י
הַאֲזִ֥ינָה ׀
יְהוָ֗ה
בִּ֣ינָה
הֲגִֽיגִי׃
3. הַקְשִׁ֤יבָה ׀
לְק֬וֹל
שַׁוְעִ֗י
מַלְכִּ֥י
וֵאלֹהָ֑י
כִּֽי־
אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ
אֶתְפַּלָּֽל׃
4. יְֽהוָ֗ה
בֹּ֭קֶר
תִּשְׁמַ֣ע
קוֹלִ֑י
בֹּ֥קֶר
אֶֽעֱרָךְ־
לְ֝ךָ֗
וַאֲצַפֶּֽה׃
5. כִּ֤י ׀
לֹ֤א
אֵֽל־
חָפֵ֘ץ
רֶ֥שַׁע ׀
אָ֑תָּה
לֹ֖א
יְגֻרְךָ֣
רָֽע׃
6. לֹֽא־
יִתְיַצְּב֣וּ
הֽ֭וֹלְלִים
לְנֶ֣גֶד
עֵינֶ֑יךָ
שָׂ֝נֵ֗אתָ
כָּל־
פֹּ֥עֲלֵי
אָֽוֶן׃
7. תְּאַבֵּד֮
דֹּבְרֵ֢י
כָ֫זָ֥ב
אִישׁ־
דָּמִ֥ים
וּמִרְמָ֗ה
יְתָ֘עֵ֥ב ׀
יְהוָֽה׃
8. וַאֲנִ֗י
בְּרֹ֣ב
חַ֭סְדְּךָ
אָב֣וֹא
בֵיתֶ֑ךָ
אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֥ה
אֶל־
הֵֽיכַל־
קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗
בְּיִרְאָתֶֽךָ׃
9. יְהוָ֤ה ׀
נְחֵ֬נִי
בְצִדְקָתֶ֗ךָ
לְמַ֥עַן
שׁוֹרְרָ֑י
הושר
הַיְשַׁ֖ר
לְפָנַ֣י
דַּרְכֶּֽךָ׃
10. כִּ֤י
אֵ֪ין
בְּפִ֡יהוּ
נְכוֹנָה֮
קִרְבָּ֢ם
הַ֫וּ֥וֹת
קֶֽבֶר־
פָּת֥וּחַ
גְּרוֹנָ֑ם
לְ֝שׁוֹנָ֗ם
יַחֲלִֽיקוּן׃
11. הַֽאֲשִׁימֵ֨ם ׀
אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים
יִפְּלוּ֮
מִֽמֹּעֲצ֢וֹתֵ֫יהֶ֥ם
בְּרֹ֣ב
פִּ֭שְׁעֵיהֶם
הַדִּיחֵ֑מוֹ
כִּי־
מָ֥רוּ
בָֽךְ׃
12. וְיִשְׂמְח֨וּ
כָל־
ח֪וֹסֵי
בָ֡ךְ
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
יְ֭רַנֵּנוּ
וְתָסֵ֣ךְ
עָלֵ֑ימוֹ
וְֽיַעְלְצ֥וּ
בְ֝ךָ֗
אֹהֲבֵ֥י
שְׁמֶֽךָ׃
13. כִּֽי־
אַתָּה֮
תְּבָרֵ֢ךְ
צַ֫דִּ֥יק
יְהוָ֑ה
כַּ֝צִּנָּ֗ה
רָצ֥וֹן
תַּעְטְרֶֽנּוּ׃
Psalm 71:
Psalm 71
1. בְּךָֽ־
יְהוָ֥ה
חָסִ֑יתִי
אַל־
אֵב֥וֹשָׁה
לְעוֹלָֽם׃
2. בְּצִדְקָתְךָ֗
תַּצִּילֵ֥נִי
וּֽתְפַלְּטֵ֑נִי
הַטֵּֽה־
אֵלַ֥י
אָ֝זְנְךָ֗
וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃
3. הֱיֵ֤ה
לִ֨י ׀
לְצ֥וּר
מָע֡וֹן
לָב֗וֹא
תָּמִ֗יד
צִוִּ֥יתָ
לְהוֹשִׁיעֵ֑נִי
כִּֽי־
סַלְעִ֖י
וּמְצוּדָתִ֣י
אָֽתָּה׃
4. אֱֽלֹהַ֗י
פַּ֭לְּטֵנִי
מִיַּ֣ד
רָשָׁ֑ע
מִכַּ֖ף
מְעַוֵּ֣ל
וְחוֹמֵץ׃
5. כִּֽי־
אַתָּ֥ה
תִקְוָתִ֑י
אֲדֹנָ֥י
יְ֝הוִ֗ה
מִבְטַחִ֥י
מִנְּעוּרָֽי׃
6. עָלֶ֤יךָ ׀
נִסְמַ֬כְתִּי
מִבֶּ֗טֶן
מִמְּעֵ֣י
אִ֭מִּי
אַתָּ֣ה
גוֹזִ֑י
בְּךָ֖
תְהִלָּתִ֣י
תָמִֽיד׃
7. כְּ֭מוֹפֵת
הָיִ֣יתִי
לְרַבִּ֑ים
וְ֝אַתָּ֗ה
מַֽחֲסִי־
עֹֽז׃
8. יִמָּ֣לֵא
פִ֭י
תְּהִלָּתֶ֑ךָ
כָּל־
הַ֝יּ֗וֹם
תִּפְאַרְתֶּֽךָ׃
9. אַֽל־
תַּ֭שְׁלִיכֵנִי
לְעֵ֣ת
זִקְנָ֑ה
כִּכְל֥וֹת
כֹּ֝חִ֗י
אַֽל־
תַּעַזְבֵֽנִי׃
10. כִּֽי־
אָמְר֣וּ
אוֹיְבַ֣י
לִ֑י
וְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י
נַ֝פְשִׁ֗י
נוֹעֲצ֥וּ
יַחְדָּֽו׃
11. לֵ֭אמֹר
אֱלֹהִ֣ים
עֲזָב֑וֹ
רִֽדְפ֥וּ
וְ֝תִפְשֻׂ֗וּהוּ
כִּי־
אֵ֥ין
מַצִּֽיל׃
12. אֱ֭לֹהִים
אַל־
תִּרְחַ֣ק
מִמֶּ֑נִּי
אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י
לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי
חישה
חֽוּשָׁה׃
13. יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ
יִכְלוּ֮
שֹׂטְנֵ֢י
נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י
יַֽעֲט֣וּ
חֶ֭רְפָּה
וּכְלִמָּ֑ה
מְ֝בַקְשֵׁ֗י
רָעָתִֽי׃
14. וַ֭אֲנִי
תָּמִ֣יד
אֲיַחֵ֑ל
וְ֝הוֹסַפְתִּ֗י
עַל־
כָּל־
תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
15. פִּ֤י ׀
יְסַפֵּ֬ר
צִדְקָתֶ֗ךָ
כָּל־
הַיּ֥וֹם
תְּשׁוּעָתֶ֑ךָ
כִּ֤י
לֹ֖א
יָדַ֣עְתִּי
סְפֹרֽוֹת׃
16. אָב֗וֹא
בִּ֭גְבֻרוֹת
אֲדֹנָ֣י
יְהִ֑cוה
אַזְכִּ֖יר
צִדְקָתְךָ֣
לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃
17. אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים
לִמַּדְתַּ֥נִי
מִנְּעוּרָ֑י
וְעַד־
הֵ֝֗נָּה
אַגִּ֥יד
נִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
18. וְגַ֤ם
עַד־
זִקְנָ֨ה ׀
וְשֵׂיבָה֮
אֱלֹהִ֢ים
אַֽל־
תַּעַ֫זְבֵ֥נִי
עַד־
אַגִּ֣יד
זְרוֹעֲךָ֣
לְד֑וֹר
לְכָל־
יָ֝ב֗וֹא
גְּבוּרָתֶֽךָ׃
19. וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥
אֱלֹהִ֗ים
עַד־
מָ֫ר֥וֹם
אֲשֶׁר־
עָשִׂ֥יתָ
גְדֹל֑וֹת
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים
מִ֣י
כָמֽוֹךָ׃
20. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
הראיתנו
הִרְאִיתַ֨נִי ׀
צָר֥וֹת
רַבּ֗וֹת
וְרָ֫ע֥וֹת
תָּשׁ֥וּב
תחיינו
תְּחַיֵּ֑ינִי
וּֽמִתְּהֹמ֥וֹת
הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ
תָּשׁ֥וּב
תַּעֲלֵֽנִי׃
21. תֶּ֤רֶב ׀
גְּֽדֻלָּתִ֗י
וְתִסֹּ֥ב
תְּֽנַחֲמֵֽנִי׃
22. גַּם־
אֲנִ֤י ׀
אוֹדְךָ֣
בִכְלִי־
נֶבֶל֮
אֲמִתְּךָ֢
אֱלֹ֫הָ֥י
אֲזַמְּרָ֣ה
לְךָ֣
בְכִנּ֑וֹר
קְ֝ד֗וֹשׁ
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
23. תְּרַנֵּ֣נָּ֣ה
שְׂ֭פָתַי
כִּ֣י
אֲזַמְּרָה־
לָּ֑ךְ
וְ֝נַפְשִׁ֗י
אֲשֶׁ֣ר
פָּדִֽיתָ׃
24. גַּם־
לְשׁוֹנִ֗י
כָּל־
הַ֭יּוֹם
תֶּהְגֶּ֣ה
צִדְקָתֶ֑ךָ
כִּי־
בֹ֥שׁוּ
כִֽי־
חָ֝פְר֗וּ
מְבַקְשֵׁ֥י
רָעָתִֽי׃