Psalm 59
New King James Version
The Assured Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David (A)when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[b]Defend me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 For look, they lie in wait for my life;
(B)The mighty gather against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord.
4 They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.
(C)Awake to help me, and behold!
5 You therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the [c]nations;
Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah
6 (D)At evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
7 Indeed, they belch with their mouth;
(E)Swords are in their lips;
For they say, (F)“Who hears?”
8 But (G)You, O Lord, shall laugh at them;
You shall have all the [d]nations in derision.
9 I will wait for You, O You [e]his Strength;
(H)For God is my [f]defense.
10 [g]My God of mercy shall (I)come to meet me;
God shall let (J)me see my desire on my enemies.
11 Do not slay them, lest my people forget;
Scatter them by Your power,
And bring them down,
O Lord our shield.
12 (K)For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be taken in their pride,
And for the cursing and lying which they speak.
13 (L)Consume them in wrath, consume them,
That they may not be;
And (M)let them know that God rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah
14 And (N)at evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
15 They (O)wander up and down for food,
And [h]howl if they are not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 To You, (P)O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.
Footnotes
- Psalm 59:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
- Psalm 59:1 Lit. Set me on high
- Psalm 59:5 Gentiles
- Psalm 59:8 Gentiles
- Psalm 59:9 So with MT, Syr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Vg. my Strength
- Psalm 59:9 Lit. fortress
- Psalm 59:10 So with Qr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Vg. My God, His mercy; Kt., some Heb. mss., Tg. O God, my mercy; Syr. O God, Your mercy
- Psalm 59:15 So with LXX, Vg.; MT, Syr., Tg. spend the night
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;
2 deliver me from (G)those who work evil,
and save me from (H)bloodthirsty men.
3 For 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
6 Each evening they (N)come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, (O)bellowing with their mouths
with (P)swords in their lips—
for (Q)“Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”
8 But you, O Lord, (R)laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O 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.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter[d] by your power and (W)bring them down,
O Lord, our (X)shield!
12 For (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.
15 They (AD)wander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But 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.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, (AH)are my fortress,
(AI)the God who shows me steadfast love.
Footnotes
- Psalm 59:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 59:7 Hebrew lacks they think
- Psalm 59:10 Or The God who shows me steadfast love
- Psalm 59:11 Or wander
Psalm 59
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 59[a]
Complaint Against Bloodthirsty Enemies
1 For the director. Do not destroy.[b] A miktam of David, when Saul sent people to watch his house and kill him.(A)
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.(B)
8 Their mouths pour out insult;
sharp words are on their lips.
They say: “Who is there to hear?”[c]
9 But you, Lord, laugh at them;
you deride all the nations.(C)
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(D)
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.(E)
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.
18 My strength, your praise I will sing;
you, God, are my fortress, my loving God.
Footnotes
- 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.
Psalm 59
Darby Translation
To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' Of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.
59 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God; secure me on high from them that rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from men of blood.
3 For behold, they lie in wait for my soul; strong ones are gathered against me: not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah.
4 They run and prepare themselves without [my] fault: awake to meet me, and behold.
5 Yea, do thou, Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, arise to visit all the nations: be not gracious to any plotters of iniquity. Selah.
6 They return in the evening; they howl like a dog, and go round about the city:
7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in their lips: for who [say they] doth hear?
8 But thou, Jehovah, wilt laugh at them; thou wilt have all the nations in derision.
9 Their strength! … I will take heed to thee; for God is my high fortress.
10 God, whose loving-kindness will come to meet me,—God shall let me see [my desire] upon mine enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people forget; by thy power make them wander, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 [Because of] the sin of their mouth, the word of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride; and because of cursing and lying which they speak.
13 Make an end in wrath, make an end, that they may be no more; that they may know that God ruleth in Jacob, unto the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 And in the evening they shall return, they shall howl like a dog, and go round about the city.
15 They shall wander about for meat, and stay all night if they be not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I will sing of thy strength; yea, I will sing aloud of thy loving-kindness in the morning; for thou hast been to me a high fortress, and a refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 Unto thee, my strength, will I sing psalms; for God is my high fortress, the God of my mercy.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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