Psalm 59
New American Standard Bible
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
For the music director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 (A)Rescue me from my enemies, my God;
[d](B)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Rescue me from (C)those who practice injustice,
And save me from (D)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (E)have [e]set an ambush for my [f]life;
[g]Fierce men (F)attack me,
(G)Not for my wrongdoing nor for my sin, Lord,
4 [h](H)For no guilt of mine, they run and take their stand against me.
(I)Stir Yourself to [i]help me, and see!
5 You, (J)Lord God of armies, the God of Israel,
Awake to [j](K)punish all the nations;
(L)Do not be gracious to any who deal treacherously in wrongdoing. Selah
6 They (M)return at evening, they howl like a (N)dog,
And prowl around the city.
7 Behold, they (O)gush forth with their mouths;
(P)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(Q)Who hears?”
8 But You, Lord, (R)laugh at them;
You (S)scoff at all the nations.
9 Because of [k]his (T)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (U)refuge.
10 [l]My God (V)in His faithfulness will meet me;
God will let me (W)look triumphantly upon my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, (X)or my people will forget;
[m](Y)Scatter them by Your power and bring them down,
Lord, (Z)our shield.
12 [n]On account of the (AA)sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
May they even be (AB)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AC)curses and lies which they tell.
13 [o](AD)Destroy them in wrath, [p]destroy them so that they will no longer exist;
So that people may (AE)know that God [q]rules in Jacob,
To the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They (AF)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And prowl around the city.
15 They (AG)wander about [r]for food
And [s]murmur if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I will (AH)sing of Your strength;
Yes, I will (AI)joyfully sing of Your faithfulness in the (AJ)morning,
For You have been my (AK)refuge
And a (AL)place of refuge on the day of my distress.
17 (AM)My strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (AN)refuge, the [t]God who shows me favor.
Footnotes
- Psalm 59 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
- Psalm 59 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm
- Psalm 59 Title 1 Sam 19:11
- Psalm 59:1 Or May You put me in an inaccessibly high place
- Psalm 59:3 Or lain in wait
- Psalm 59:3 Lit soul
- Psalm 59:3 Or Strong
- Psalm 59:4 Lit Without guilt
- Psalm 59:4 Lit meet
- Psalm 59:5 Lit visit
- Psalm 59:9 LXX, some mss and some ancient versions my strength (cf. v 17)
- Psalm 59:10 Many mss and some ancient versions The God of my faithfulness
- Psalm 59:11 Or Make them wander
- Psalm 59:12 Or The sin of their mouth is the word of their lips,
- Psalm 59:13 Lit Bring to an end
- Psalm 59:13 Lit Bring to an end
- Psalm 59:13 Or is Ruler
- Psalm 59:15 Lit to eat
- Psalm 59:15 Another reading is linger all night
- Psalm 59:17 Lit God of my favor
Psalm 59
Living Bible
59 Written by David at the time King Saul set guards at his home to capture and kill him. (1 Samuel 19:11)
O my God, save me from my enemies. Protect me from these who have come to destroy me. 2 Preserve me from these criminals, these murderers. 3 They lurk in ambush for my life. Strong men are out there waiting. And not, O Lord, because I’ve done them wrong. 4 Yet they prepare to kill me. Lord, waken! See what is happening! Help me! 5 (And O Jehovah, God of heaven’s armies, God of Israel, arise and punish the heathen nations surrounding us.) Do not spare these evil, treacherous men. 6 At evening they come to spy, slinking around like dogs that prowl the city. 7 I hear them shouting insults and cursing God, for “No one will hear us,” they think. 8 Lord, laugh at them! (And scoff at these surrounding nations too.)
9 O God my Strength! I will sing your praises, for you are my place of safety. 10 My God is changeless in his love for me, and he will come and help me. He will let me see my wish come true upon my enemies. 11 Don’t kill them—for my people soon forget such lessons—but stagger them with your power and bring them to their knees. Bring them to the dust, O Lord our shield. 12-13 They are proud, cursing liars. Angrily destroy them. Wipe them out. (And let the nations find out, too, that God rules in Israel and will reign throughout the world.) 14-15 Let these evil men slink back at evening and prowl the city all night before they are satisfied, howling like dogs and searching for food.
16 But as for me, I will sing each morning about your power and mercy. For you have been my high tower of refuge, a place of safety in the day of my distress. 17 O my Strength, to you I sing my praises; for you are my high tower of safety, my God of mercy.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.