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God Is My Helper

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David. [b]When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”

54 O God, save me by (A)Your name,
And render justice to me by (B)Your might.
(C)O God, hear my prayer;
(D)Give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers have (E)risen against me
And (F)ruthless men have (G)sought my [c]life;
They have (H)not set God before them. [d]Selah.

Behold, (I)God is my helper;
The Lord is among those who (J)sustain my soul.
He will (K)return the evil to my foes;
(L)Destroy them (M)in Your truth.

(N)With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You;
I will give (O)thanks to Your name, O Yahweh, for it is good.
For [e]He has (P)delivered me from all [f]distress,
And my eye has (Q)looked in triumph upon my enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54 Title Possibly Contemplative, Didactic, Skillful Psalm
  2. Psalm 54 Title 1 Sam 23:19; 26:1
  3. Psalm 54:3 Or soul
  4. Psalm 54:3 Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo, Musical Interlude
  5. Psalm 54:7 His name; or it
  6. Psalm 54:7 Or trouble

Prayer for defence against enemies.

For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. Maschil of David; when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?

54 Save me, O God, by thy name,
And judge me in thy might.
Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers are risen up against me,
And violent men have sought after my soul:
They have not set God before them. Selah
Behold, God is my helper:
The Lord is [a]of them that uphold my soul.
[b]He will requite the evil unto [c]mine enemies:
Destroy thou them in thy truth.
With a freewill-offering will I sacrifice unto thee:
I will give thanks unto thy name, O Jehovah, for it is good.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble;
And mine eye hath seen my desire upon mine enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54:4 Or, with
  2. Psalm 54:5 Another reading is, The evil shall return.
  3. Psalm 54:5 Or, them that lie in wait for me

19 Then (A)Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on (B)the hill of Hachilah, which is on the [a]south of [b]Jeshimon? 20 So now, O king, according to all the desire of your soul to come down, come down here; and (C)our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” 21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed of Yahweh, (D)for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go now, make more sure, and know and see his place—where his very foot is—and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very crafty. 23 So see and know about all the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

24 Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of (E)Maon, in the Arabah to the [c]south of [d]Jeshimon. 25 So Saul and his men went to seek him, and they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul heard it and pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 23:19 Lit right side
  2. 1 Samuel 23:19 Or the desert
  3. 1 Samuel 23:24 Lit right side
  4. 1 Samuel 23:24 Or the desert

19 Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in the strongholds in [a]the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of [b]the desert? 20 Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king’s hand. 21 And Saul said, Blessed be ye of Jehovah; for ye have had compassion on me. 22 Go, I pray you, make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his [c]haunt is, and who hath seen him there; for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly. 23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me [d]of a certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out among all the [e]thousands of Judah.

24 And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of [f]the desert. 25 And Saul and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 23:19 Or, Horesh
  2. 1 Samuel 23:19 Or, Jeshimon
  3. 1 Samuel 23:22 Hebrew foot.
  4. 1 Samuel 23:23 Or, with the certainty. Or, to a set place
  5. 1 Samuel 23:23 Or, families
  6. 1 Samuel 23:24 Or, Jeshimon