Psalm 56

New King James Version

Prayer for Relief from Tormentors

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[a]“The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the ^(A)Philistines captured him in Gath.

56 Be ^(B)merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
²My enemies would ^(C)hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

³Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
⁴In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
^(D)I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?

⁵All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
⁶They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
⁷Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
^(E)Are they not in Your book?
⁹When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because ^(F)God is for me.
¹⁰In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
¹¹In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

¹²Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
¹³^(G)For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the ^(H)light of the living?

Footnotes

Psalm 56:1 Heb. Jonath Elem Rechokim

1 Samuel 21:10-12

New King James Version

David Flees to Gath

¹⁰Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. ¹¹And ^(A)the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying:

^(B)‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”

¹²Now David ^(C)took these words ^[a]to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

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