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Psalm 56
New King James Version
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.
2 My enemies would (C)hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
3 Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
(D)I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
(E)Are they not in Your book?
9 When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because (F)God is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Vows 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
Psalm 56
21st Century King James Version
Psalm 56
21st Century King James Version
56 Be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up; he, fighting daily, oppresseth me.
2 Mine enemies would daily swallow me up, for they are many that fight against me, O Thou Most High.
3 In the time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.
4 In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
5 Every day they wrest my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps as they lie in wait for my soul.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In Thine anger cast down the people, O God.
8 Thou countest my wanderings; put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?
9 When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back! This I know, for God is for me.
10 In God will I praise His word; in the Lord will I praise His word.
11 In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
12 Thy vows are upon me, O God; I will render praises unto Thee.
13 For Thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt Thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
Psalm 56
New International Version
Psalm 56
New International Version
Psalm 56[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
1 Be merciful to me,(A) my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;(B)
all day long they press their attack.(C)
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;(D)
in their pride many are attacking me.(E)
3 When I am afraid,(F) I put my trust in you.(G)
4 In God, whose word I praise—(H)
in God I trust and am not afraid.(I)
What can mere mortals do to me?(J)
5 All day long they twist my words;(K)
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire,(L) they lurk,
they watch my steps,(M)
hoping to take my life.(N)
7 Because of their wickedness do not[c] let them escape;(O)
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.(P)
8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll[d](Q)—
are they not in your record?(R)
9 Then my enemies will turn back(S)
when I call for help.(T)
By this I will know that God is for me.(U)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?
Footnotes
- Psalm 56:1 In Hebrew texts 56:1-13 is numbered 56:2-14.
- Psalm 56:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 56:7 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have do not.
- Psalm 56:8 Or misery; / put my tears in your wineskin
1 Samuel 21:10-12
New King James Version
1 Samuel 21:10-12
New King James Version
David Flees to Gath
10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And (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’?”
12 Now David (C)took these words [a]to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 21:12 Lit. in his heart
1 Samuel 21:10-12
21st Century King James Version
1 Samuel 21:10-12
21st Century King James Version
10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, ‘Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”
12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
Read full chapter
1 Samuel 21:10-12
New International Version
1 Samuel 21:10-12
New International Version
David at Gath
10 That day David fled from Saul and went(A) to Achish king of Gath. 11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”(B)
12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.