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Deliver Me from My Enemies

For the choir director. [a]Al-tashheth. Of David. A [b]Mikhtam. [c]When Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to put him to death.

59 (A)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[d](B)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from (C)workers of iniquity
And save me from (D)men of bloodshed.
For behold, they (E)have lain in wait for my soul;
[e]Fierce men [f](F)launch an attack against me,
(G)Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Yahweh,
[g](H)For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
(I)Arouse Yourself to meet me, and see!
You, (J)O Yahweh God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to [h](K)punish all the nations;
(L)Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in [i]iniquity. [j]Selah.
They (M)return at evening, they howl like a (N)dog,
And go around the city.
Behold, they (O)pour forth speech with their mouth;
(P)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(Q)Who hears?”
But You, O Yahweh, (R)laugh at them;
You (S)mock all the nations.

Because of [k]his (T)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (U)stronghold.
10 [l]My God (V)in His lovingkindness will approach me;
God will let me (W)look triumphantly upon [m]my foes.
11 Do not slay them, (X)or my people will forget;
(Y)Make them wander about by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, (Z)our shield.
12 [n]On account of the (AA)sin of their mouth and the word of their lips,
Let them even be (AB)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AC)curses and [o]lies which they utter.
13 [p](AD)Destroy them in wrath, [q]destroy them that they may be no more;
That men may (AE)know that God [r]rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 They (AF)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
15 They (AG)wander about [s]for food
And [t]growl if they are not satisfied.

16 But as for me, I shall (AH)sing of Your strength;
And I shall (AI)joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the (AJ)morning,
For You have been my (AK)stronghold
And a (AL)refuge in the day of my distress.
17 (AM)O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (AN)stronghold, the [u]God who shows me lovingkindness.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 59 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
  2. Psalm 59 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem, Atonement Psalm
  3. Psalm 59 Title 1 Sam 19:11
  4. Psalm 59:1 Or May You put me in an inaccessibly high place
  5. Psalm 59:3 Or Strong
  6. Psalm 59:3 Or stir up strife
  7. Psalm 59:4 Lit Without guilt
  8. Psalm 59:5 Lit visit
  9. Psalm 59:5 Or wickedness
  10. Psalm 59:5 Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo, Musical Interlude
  11. Psalm 59:9 Many mss and some ancient versions my strength
  12. Psalm 59:10 Many mss and some ancient versions The God of my lovingkindness
  13. Psalm 59:10 Lit those who lie in wait for me
  14. Psalm 59:12 Or The sin of their mouth is the word of their lips,
  15. Psalm 59:12 Lit lying
  16. Psalm 59:13 Lit Bring to an end
  17. Psalm 59:13 Lit Bring to an end
  18. Psalm 59:13 Or is Ruler
  19. Psalm 59:15 Or to devour
  20. Psalm 59:15 Or tarry all night
  21. Psalm 59:17 Lit God of my lovingkindness

Psalm 59

God Our Stronghold

For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A Davidic Miktam. When Saul sent agents to watch the house and kill him.(A)

Deliver me from my enemies, my God;(B)
protect me from those who rise up against me.(C)
Deliver me from those who practice sin,
and save me from men of bloodshed.(D)
Lord, look! They set an ambush for me.(E)
Powerful men attack me,
but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine.(F)
For no fault of mine,
they run and take up a position.
Awake to help me, and take notice.(G)
Lord God of Hosts, You are the God of Israel,
rise up to punish all the nations;
do not show grace to any wicked traitors.(H)Selah

They return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(I)
Look, they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from[b] their lips.(J)
“For who,” they say, “will hear?”(K)
But You laugh at them, Lord;
You ridicule all the nations.(L)
I will keep watch for You, my[c] strength,
because God is my stronghold.(M)
10 My faithful God[d] will come to meet me;
God will let me look down on my adversaries.(N)

11 Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget.
By Your power, make them homeless wanderers(O)
and bring them down,
Lord, our shield.(P)
12 For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
They utter curses and lies.(Q)
13 Consume them in rage;
consume them until they are gone.(R)
Then people will know throughout[e] the earth
that God rules over Jacob.(S)Selah

14 And they return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(T)
15 They scavenge for food;
they growl if they are not satisfied.(U)

16 But I will sing of Your strength
and will joyfully proclaim
Your faithful love in the morning.(V)
For You have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge in my day of trouble.(W)
17 To You, my strength, I sing praises,
because God is my stronghold—
my faithful God.(X)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 59:1 Possibly a tune
  2. Psalm 59:7 Lit swords are on
  3. Psalm 59:9 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg, Tg; other Hb mss read his
  4. Psalm 59:10 Alt Hb tradition reads My God in His faithful love
  5. Psalm 59:13 Lit know to the ends of

11 Then (A)Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not make an escape for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” 12 (B)So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took (C)the [a]household idol and laid it on the bed and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with clothes. 14 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but she said, “(D)He is sick.” 15 So Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on [b]his bed, that I may put him to death.” 16 The messengers came, and behold, the [c]household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. 17 So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! (E)Why should I put you to death?’”

18 Now David fled and escaped and came (F)to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in (G)Naioth.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 19:13 Heb teraphim
  2. 1 Samuel 19:15 Lit the
  3. 1 Samuel 19:16 Heb teraphim

11 Saul sent agents to David’s house to watch for him and kill him in the morning.(A) But his wife Michal(B) warned David, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead tomorrow!” 12 So she lowered David from the window, and he fled and escaped.(C) 13 Then Michal took the household idol and put it on the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment. 14 When Saul sent agents to seize David, Michal said, “He’s sick.”(D)

15 Saul sent the agents back to see David and said, “Bring him on his bed so I can kill him.” 16 When the messengers arrived, to their surprise, the household idol was on the bed with some goat hair on its head.

17 Saul asked Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!”

She answered him, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”

18 So David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah(E) and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel left and stayed at Naioth.(F)

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