Psalm 54-56

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Defense against Enemies.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A ^[a]Maskil of David, ^[b]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”

54 Save me, God, by ^(A)Your name,
And ^[c]vindicate me by ^(B)Your power.
²^(C)Hear my prayer, God;
^(D)Listen to the words of my mouth.
³For strangers have ^(E)risen against me
And ^(F)violent men have ^(G)sought my ^[d]life;
They have ^(H)not set God before them. Selah

⁴Behold, ^(I)God is my helper;
The Lord is ^[e]the ^(J)sustainer of my soul.
⁵^[f]He will ^(K)pay back the evil to my enemies;
^[g]^(L)Destroy them ^(M)in Your ^[h]faithfulness.

⁶^[i]^(N)Willingly I will sacrifice to You;
I will ^(O)praise Your name, Lord, for it is good.
⁷For ^[j]He has ^(P)saved me from all ^[k]trouble,
And my eye has ^(Q)looked with satisfaction upon my enemies.

Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A ^[l]Maskil of David.

55 ^(R)Listen to my prayer, God;
And ^(S)do not hide Yourself from my pleading.
²Give Your ^(T)attention to me and answer me;
I am restless in my ^(U)complaint and ^[m]^(V)severely distracted,
³Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the ^(W)pressure of the wicked;
For they ^(X)bring down ^[n]trouble upon me
And in anger they ^(Y)hold a grudge against me.

⁴My ^(Z)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of ^(AA)death have fallen upon me.
⁵Fear and ^(AB)trembling come upon me,
And ^[o]^(AC)horror has ^[p]overwhelmed me.
⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and ^[q]^(AD)be at rest.
⁷Behold, I would flee far away,
I would ^(AE)spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah
⁸I would hurry to my place of refuge
From the ^(AF)stormy wind and heavy gale.”

⁹Confuse them, Lord, ^(AG)divide their tongues,
For I have seen ^(AH)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And evil and harm are in her midst.
¹¹^(AI)Destruction is in her midst;
^(AJ)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her ^[r]streets.

¹²For it is ^(AK)not an enemy who taunts me,
Then I could endure it;
Nor is it one who hates me who ^(AL)has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
¹³But it is you, a man ^[s]my equal,
My ^(AM)companion and my ^(AN)confidant;
¹⁴We who had sweet ^[t]fellowship together,
^(AO)Walked in the house of God among the commotion.
¹⁵May ^[u]death come ^(AP)deceitfully upon them;
May they ^(AQ)go down alive to ^[v]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶As for me, I shall ^(AR)call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
¹⁷^(AS)Evening and ^(AT)morning and at ^(AU)noon, I will complain and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
¹⁸He will ^(AV)redeem my soul in peace ^[w]from the battle which is against me,
For they are ^(AW)many who are aggressive toward me.
¹⁹God will ^(AX)hear and humiliate them—
Even the one ^(AY)who ^[x]sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah
With whom there ^[y]is no change,
And who ^(AZ)do not fear God.
²⁰He has put forth his hands against ^(BA)those who were at peace with him;
He has ^[z]^(BB)violated his covenant.
²¹His ^[aa]speech was ^(BC)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were ^(BD)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn ^(BE)swords.

²²^(BF)Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
^(BG)He will never allow the righteous to ^[ab]^(BH)be shaken.
²³But You, God, will bring them down to the ^(BI)pit of destruction;
^(BJ)Men of bloodshed and deceit will ^(BK)not live out half their days.
But I will ^(BL)trust in You.

Pleading for Help and Grateful Trust in God.

For the music director; according to ^[ac]Jonath elem rehokim. A ^[ad]Mikhtam of David, ^[ae]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

56 Be gracious to me, God, for a man has ^[af]^(BM)trampled upon me;
^[ag]Fighting all day long he ^(BN)oppresses me.
²My enemies have ^(BO)trampled upon me all day long,
For ^[ah]they are many who ^(BP)fight proudly against me.
³^[ai]When I am ^(BQ)afraid,
^[aj]I will ^(BR)put my trust in You.
⁴^(BS)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
^(BT)What can mere ^[ak]mortals do to me?
⁵All day long they ^(BU)distort my words;
All their ^[al]^(BV)thoughts are against me for evil.
⁶They ^[am]^(BW)attack, they lurk,
They ^(BX)watch my ^[an]steps,
As they have ^(BY)waited to take my ^[ao]life.
⁷Because of their wickedness, will there be an ^(BZ)escape for them?
In anger ^(CA)make the peoples fall down, God!

⁸You ^(CB)have taken account of my ^[ap]miseries;
Put my ^(CC)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in ^(CD)Your book?
⁹Then my enemies will ^(CE)turn back ^(CF)on the day when I call;
This I know, ^[aq]that ^(CG)God is for me.
¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
¹¹In God I have put my ^[ar]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can mankind do to me?
¹²Your ^(CH)vows are binding upon me, God;
I will render thanksgiving offerings to You.
¹³For You have ^(CI)saved my soul from death,
^[as]Indeed ^(CJ)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may ^(CK)walk before God
In the ^(CL)light of the ^[at]living.

Footnotes

Psalm 54 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Psalm 54 Title 1 Sam 23:19; 26:1
Psalm 54:1 Lit judge
Psalm 54:3 Or soul
Psalm 54:4 Lit as those who sustain
Psalm 54:5 LXX; MT The evil will return
Psalm 54:5 Or Put to silence
Psalm 54:5 Or truth
Psalm 54:6 Or With a voluntary offering
Psalm 54:7 Or it; i.e., His name
Psalm 54:7 Or distress
Psalm 55 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Psalm 55:2 Another reading is I must moan
Psalm 55:3 Or wickedness
Psalm 55:5 Lit shuddering
Psalm 55:5 Lit covered
Psalm 55:6 Lit settle down
Psalm 55:11 Or plaza
Psalm 55:13 Lit according to my valuation
Psalm 55:14 Lit counsel; or intimacy
Psalm 55:15 Another reading is devastation be upon them
Psalm 55:15 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 55:18 Or so that none may approach me
Psalm 55:19 Or remains from
Psalm 55:19 Lit are no changes
Psalm 55:20 Lit profaned
Psalm 55:21 Lit mouth
Psalm 55:22 Or totter
Psalm 56 Title Or The silent dove of those who are far off; or The dove of the distant terebinths
Psalm 56 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem; or Atonement Psalm
Psalm 56 Title 1 Sam 21:10, 11
Psalm 56:1 Or snapped at
Psalm 56:1 Or A fighting man
Psalm 56:2 Or many are fighting
Psalm 56:3 Lit The day
Psalm 56:3 Or I am one who puts
Psalm 56:4 Lit flesh
Psalm 56:5 Or purposes
Psalm 56:6 Or stir up strife
Psalm 56:6 Lit heels
Psalm 56:6 Lit soul
Psalm 56:8 Or wanderings
Psalm 56:9 Or because
Psalm 56:11 Or trust without fear
Psalm 56:13 Or Have You not delivered
Psalm 56:13 Or life