Deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove - Thy people Israel are helpless, defenceless, miserable, and afflicted: O deliver them no longer into the power of their brutal adversaries.
O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove - The “life” of thy turtle-dove; or, thy turtle-dove itself. The turtle-dove is a name of endearment for one beloved, in Psalm 68:10) - is the same which in the other member of the sentence is rendered “congregation.” It may be applied to a herd of cattle, tame or wild; and then to a “people” - a band, a troop, a host - whether of orderly and civilized, or of wild and savage people. It seems to be used in this double sense in the verse before us; in the first member of the verse, “deliver not thy turtle-dove “to the multitude” - to the wild beast, or to the savage hosts; in the latter, “forget not the congregation of thy poor” - thy flock - thy people - considered as timid or alarmed. Save the timid and trembling flock from beasts of prey.