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Psalm 54
New English Translation

Psalm 54[a]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song[b] by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.”[c]

54 O God, deliver me by your name.[d]
Vindicate me[e] by your power.
2 O God, listen to my prayer.
Pay attention to what I say.[f]
3 For foreigners[g] attack me;[h]
ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life.[i] (Selah)
4 Look, God is my deliverer.[j]
The Lord is among those who support me.[k]
5 May those who wait to ambush me[l] be repaid for their evil.[m]
As a demonstration of your faithfulness,[n] destroy them.
6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice[o] to you.
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7 Surely[p] he rescues me from all trouble,[q]
and I triumph over my enemies.[r]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54:1 sn Psalm 54. The psalmist asks God for protection against his enemies, confidently affirms that God will vindicate him, and promises to give thanks to God for his saving intervention.
  2. Psalm 54:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.
  3. Psalm 54:1 tn Heb “Is not David hiding with us?”sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm during the period when Saul was seeking his life. On one occasion the Ziphites informed Saul that David was hiding in their territory (see 1 Sam 23:19-20).
  4. Psalm 54:1 tn God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character, which would instill fear in the psalmist’s enemies (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:17).
  5. Psalm 54:1 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
  6. Psalm 54:2 tn Heb “to the words of my mouth.”
  7. Psalm 54:3 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read זֵדִים (zedim, “proud ones”) rather than זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”). This is a case of confusing ד (dalet) and ר (resh). The term זֵדִים (zedim) occurs in parallelism with עָרִיצִים (ʿaritsim, “violent ones”) in Ps 86:14 and Isa 13:11. However, זָרִים (zarim) is parallel to עָרִיצִים in Isa 25:5; 29:5; Ezek 28:7; 31:12.
  8. Psalm 54:3 tn Heb “rise against me.”
  9. Psalm 54:3 tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”
  10. Psalm 54:4 tn Or “my helper.”
  11. Psalm 54:4 tn Or “sustain my life.”
  12. Psalm 54:5 tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.
  13. Psalm 54:5 tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.
  14. Psalm 54:5 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
  15. Psalm 54:6 tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve/vow to praise.
  16. Psalm 54:7 tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the Lord’s name (cf. v. 6).
  17. Psalm 54:7 tn The perfects in v. 7 are probably rhetorical, indicating the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance and his own vindication as if they were occurring or had already occurred.
  18. Psalm 54:7 tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”
Listen to Psalm 54, 1 Samuel 23:19-25
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Psalm 54
Christian Standard Bible

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)

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

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

6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you.(G)
I will praise your name, Lord,
because it is good.(H)
7 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
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Psalm 53
Psalm 55
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1 Samuel 23:19-25
New English Translation

19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20 Now at your own discretion,[a] O king, come down. Delivering him into the king’s hand will be our responsibility.”

21 Saul replied, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely[b] where he is[c] and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. 23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information.[d] Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him[e] among all the thousands of Judah.”

24 So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the rift valley[f] to the south of Jeshimon. 25 Saul and his men went to look for him.[g] But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 23:20 tn Heb “to all the desire of your soul to come down.”
  2. 1 Samuel 23:22 tn Heb “know and see.” The expression is a hendiadys. See also v. 23.
  3. 1 Samuel 23:22 tn Heb “his place where his foot is.”
  4. 1 Samuel 23:23 tn Heb “established.”
  5. 1 Samuel 23:23 tn Heb “I will search him out.”
  6. 1 Samuel 23:24 sn This section of the rift valley is along the western part of the Dead Sea.
  7. 1 Samuel 23:25 tn Heb “to search.”
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1 Samuel 23:19-25
Christian Standard Bible

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
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1 Samuel 22
1 Samuel 24
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