Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
Why withdrawest thou thy hand - It has been remarked, that as the outward habit of the easterns had no sleeves, the hands and arms were frequently covered with the folds of the robe; and in order to do any thing, the hand must be disentangled and drawn out. The literal version of the Hebrew is: "To what time wilt thou draw back thy hand; yea, thy right hand, from within thy bosom?" Consomme; that is, manifest thy power, and destroy thy adversaries. I have, in the introduction to the book of Psalms, spoken of the old metrical version by Sternhold and Hopkins, and have stated that it was formed from the original text. A proof of this may be seen by the learned reader in this and the preceding verse; where, though their version is harsh, and some of their expressions quaint almost to ridicule, yet they have hit the true mean ing which our prose translators have missed: -
Psalms 74:10 When wilt thou once, Lord, end this shame,
And cease thine en' mies strong?
Shall they always blaspheme thy name,
And rail on thee so long?
Psalms 74:11 Why dost thou draw thy hand aback,
And hide it in thy lap?
O pluck it out, and be not slack
To give thy foes a rap!
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