The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with (A)stringed instruments. A Maskil[a] of David, (B)when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

54 O God, save me by your (C)name,
    and vindicate me by your might.
O God, (D)hear my prayer;
    give ear to the words of my mouth.

(E)For (F)strangers[b] have risen against me;
    ruthless men (G)seek my life;
    they do not set God before themselves. Selah

Behold, (H)God is my helper;
    the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies;
    in your (I)faithfulness (J)put an end to them.

With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
    I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, (K)for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
    and my eye has (L)looked in triumph on my enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 54:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Targum insolent men (compare Psalm 86:14)

Psalm 54

Prayer for Deliverance

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding among us?” (A)

God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might!(B)
God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words from my mouth.(C)
For strangers rise up against me,
and violent men intend to kill me.
They do not let God guide them.[a](D)Selah

God is my helper;
the Lord is the sustainer of my life.[b](E)
He will repay my adversaries for their evil.
Because of your faithfulness, annihilate them.(F)

I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you.(G)
I will praise your name, Lord,
because it is good.(H)
For he has rescued me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked down on my enemies.(I)

Footnotes

  1. 54:3 Lit They do not set God in front of them
  2. 54:4 Or is with those who sustain my life

19 (A)Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of (B)Jeshimon? 20 Now come down, O king, according to all your heart's desire to come down, (C)and our part shall be to surrender him into the king's hand.” 21 And Saul said, (D)“May you be blessed by the Lord, (E)for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning. 23 See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.

Now David and his men were (F)in the wilderness of Maon, (G)in the Arabah to the south of (H)Jeshimon. 25 And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

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David’s Narrow Escape

19 Some Ziphites(A) came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t it true that David is hiding among us in the strongholds in Horesh on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon? 20 So now, whenever the king wants to come down, let him come down. As for us, we will be glad to hand him over to the king.”(B)

21 “May you be blessed by the Lord,” replied Saul, “for you have shown concern for me.(C) 22 Go and check again. Investigate[a] where he goes[b] and who has seen him there; they tell me he is extremely cunning. 23 Investigate[c] all the places where he hides. Then come back to me with accurate information, and I’ll go with you. If it turns out he really is in the region, I’ll search for him among all the clans[d] of Judah.” 24 So they went to Ziph ahead of Saul.

Now David and his men were in the wilderness near Maon(D) in the Arabah south of Jeshimon, 25 and Saul and his men went to look for him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. Saul heard of this and pursued David there.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:22 Lit Know and see
  2. 23:22 Lit watch his place where his foot will be
  3. 23:23 Lit See and know
  4. 23:23 Or thousands