Psalm 57:1-59:17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 57[a]
Confident Prayer for Deliverance
1 For the director. Do not destroy.[b] A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave.(A)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
have mercy on me.
In you I seek refuge.
In the shadow of your wings[c] I seek refuge
till harm pass by.(B)
3 I call to God Most High,
to God who provides for me.
4 May God send help from heaven to save me,
shame those who trample upon me.
May God send fidelity and mercy.
Selah
5 I must lie down in the midst of lions
hungry for human prey.(C)
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongue, a sharpened sword.(D)
6 Be exalted over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.(E)
II
7 They have set a trap for my feet;
my soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me.
May they fall into it themselves!(F)
Selah
8 My heart is steadfast, God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and chant praise.(G)
9 Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.[d](H)
10 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.(I)
11 For your mercy towers to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.(J)
12 Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.
Psalm 58[e]
The Dethroning of Unjust Rulers
1 For the leader. Do not destroy.[f] A miktam of David.
I
2 Do you indeed pronounce justice, O gods;[g]
do you judge fairly you children of Adam?(K)
3 No, you freely engage in crime;
your hands dispense violence to the earth.
II
4 The wicked have been corrupt since birth;
liars from the womb, they have gone astray.
5 [h]Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a serpent stopping its ears,(L)
6 So as not to hear the voice of the charmer
or the enchanter with cunning spells.
III
7 O God, smash the teeth in their mouths;
break the fangs of these lions, Lord!(M)
8 Make them vanish like water flowing away;(N)
trodden down, let them wither like grass.(O)
9 Let them dissolve like a snail that oozes away,[i]
like an untimely birth that never sees the sun.(P)
10 Suddenly, like brambles or thistles,
have the whirlwind snatch them away.(Q)
11 Then the just shall rejoice to see the vengeance
and bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.(R)
12 Then people will say:
“Truly there is a reward for the just;
there is a God who is judge on earth!”
Psalm 59[j]
Complaint Against Bloodthirsty Enemies
1 For the director. Do not destroy.[k] A miktam of David, when Saul sent people to watch his house and kill him.(S)
I
2 Rescue me from my enemies, my God;
lift me out of reach of my foes.
3 Deliver me from evildoers;
from the bloodthirsty save me.
4 They have set an ambush for my life;
the powerful conspire against me.
For no offense or misdeed of mine, Lord,
5 for no fault they hurry to take up arms.
Come near and see my plight!
6 You, Lord God of hosts, are the God of Israel!
Awake! Punish all the nations.
Have no mercy on these worthless traitors.
Selah
7 Each evening they return,
growling like dogs, prowling the city.(T)
8 Their mouths pour out insult;
sharp words are on their lips.
They say: “Who is there to hear?”[l]
9 But you, Lord, laugh at them;
you deride all the nations.(U)
10 My strength, for you I watch;
you, God, are my fortress,
11 my loving God.
II
May God go before me,
and show me my fallen foes.
12 Slay them, God,
lest they deceive my people.
Shake them by your power;
Lord, our shield, bring them down.
13 For the sinful words of their mouths and lips
let them be caught in their pride.
For the lies they have told under oath(V)
14 destroy them in anger,
destroy till they are no more.
Then people will know God rules over Jacob,
yes, even to the ends of the earth.(W)
Selah
15 Each evening they return,
growling like dogs, prowling the city.
16 They roam about as scavengers;
if they are not filled, they howl.
III
17 But I shall sing of your strength,
extol your mercy at dawn,
For you are my fortress,
my refuge in time of trouble.
Footnotes
- Psalm 57 Each of the two equal strophes contains a prayer for rescue from enemies, accompanied by joyful trust in God (Ps 57:2–5, 7–11). The refrain prays that God be manifested as saving (Ps 57:6, 12). Ps 108 is nearly identical to part of this Psalm (cf. Ps 57:8–11, Ps 108:2–6).
- 57:1 Do not destroy: probably the title of the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung.
- 57:2 The shadow of your wings: probably refers to the wings of the cherubim (powerful winged animals) whose wings spread over the ark in the inner chamber of the Temple (1 Kgs 6:23–28).
- 57:9 I will wake the dawn: by a bold figure the psalmist imagines the sound of music and singing will waken a new day.
- Psalm 58 A lament expressing trust in God’s power to dethrone all powers obstructing divine rule of the world. First condemned are “the gods,” the powers that were popularly imagined to control human destinies (Ps 58:2–3), then “the wicked,” the human instruments of these forces (Ps 58:4–6). The psalmist prays God to prevent them from harming the just (Ps 58:7–10). The manifestation of justice will gladden the just; they will see that their God is with them (Ps 58:11). The Psalm is less concerned with personal vengeance than with public vindication of God’s justice now.
- 58:1 Do not destroy: probably the title of the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung.
- 58:2 Gods: the Bible sometimes understands pagan gods to be lesser divine beings who are assigned by Israel’s God to rule the foreign nations. Here they are accused of injustice, permitting the human judges under their patronage to abuse the righteous, cf. Ps 82.
- 58:5–6 The image is that of a poisonous snake that is controlled by the voice or piping of its trainer.
- 58:9 A snail that oozes away: empty shells suggested to ancients that snails melted away as they left a slimy trail.
- Psalm 59 A lament in two parts (Ps 59:2–9, 11b–17), each ending in a refrain (Ps 59:10, 18). Both parts alternate prayer for vindication (Ps 59:2–3, 4b–5, 11b–14) with vivid depictions of the psalmist’s enemies (Ps 59:4–5a, 7–8, 15–16). The near curse in Ps 59:12–13 is not a crude desire for revenge but a wish that God’s just rule over human affairs be recognized now.
- 59:1 Do not destroy: probably the title of the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung.
- 59:8 Who is there to hear?: a sample of the enemies’ godless reflection. The answer is that God hears their blasphemies.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.