1 Samuel 19:11-17

English Standard Version

¹¹^(A)Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ¹²^(B)So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. ¹³Michal took ^(C)an image^[a] and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. ¹⁴And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶And when the messengers came in, behold, ^(D)the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. ¹⁷Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. ^(E)Why should I kill you?’”

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Footnotes

1 Samuel 19:13 Or a household god

Psalm 59

English Standard Version

Deliver Me from My Enemies

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Do Not Destroy. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David, ^(C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

59 ^(D)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
^(E)protect me from those who ^(F)rise up against me;
²deliver me from ^(G)those who work evil,
and save me from ^(H)bloodthirsty men.

³For behold, they ^(I)lie in wait for my life;
    fierce men ^(J)stir up strife against me.
^(K)For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
⁴    for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
^(L)Awake, come to meet me, and see!
⁵    You, ^(M)Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

⁶Each evening they ^(N)come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
⁷There they are, ^(O)bellowing with their mouths
    with ^(P)swords in their lips—
    for ^(Q)“Who,” they think,^[b] “will hear us?”

⁸But you, O Lord, ^(R)laugh at them;
    you hold all the nations in derision.
⁹O my Strength, I will watch for you,
    for you, O God, are ^(S)my fortress.
¹⁰^(T)My God in his steadfast love^[c] ^(U)will meet me;
    God will let me ^(V)look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹Kill them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totter^[d] by your power and ^(W)bring them down,
    O Lord, our ^(X)shield!
¹²For ^(Y)the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
¹³    ^(Z)consume them in wrath;
    consume them till they are no more,
that they may ^(AA)know that God rules over Jacob
    to ^(AB)the ends of the earth. Selah

¹⁴^(AC)Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
¹⁵They ^(AD)wander about for food
    and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me ^(AE)a fortress
    and ^(AF)a refuge in ^(AG)the day of my distress.
¹⁷O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, ^(AH)are my fortress,
    ^(AI)the God who shows me steadfast love.