Psalm 59
New American Standard Bible
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
For the music director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 (A)Rescue me from my enemies, my God;
[d](B)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Rescue me from (C)those who practice injustice,
And save me from (D)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (E)have [e]set an ambush for my [f]life;
[g]Fierce men (F)attack me,
(G)Not for my wrongdoing nor for my sin, Lord,
4 [h](H)For no guilt of mine, they run and take their stand against me.
(I)Stir Yourself to [i]help me, and see!
5 You, (J)Lord God of armies, the God of Israel,
Awake to [j](K)punish all the nations;
(L)Do not be gracious to any who deal treacherously in wrongdoing. Selah
6 They (M)return at evening, they howl like a (N)dog,
And prowl around the city.
7 Behold, they (O)gush forth with their mouths;
(P)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(Q)Who hears?”
8 But You, Lord, (R)laugh at them;
You (S)scoff at all the nations.
9 Because of [k]his (T)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (U)refuge.
10 [l]My God (V)in His faithfulness will meet me;
God will let me (W)look triumphantly upon my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, (X)or my people will forget;
[m](Y)Scatter them by Your power and bring them down,
Lord, (Z)our shield.
12 [n]On account of the (AA)sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
May they even be (AB)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AC)curses and lies which they tell.
13 [o](AD)Destroy them in wrath, [p]destroy them so that they will no longer exist;
So that people may (AE)know that God [q]rules in Jacob,
To the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They (AF)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And prowl around the city.
15 They (AG)wander about [r]for food
And [s]murmur if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I will (AH)sing of Your strength;
Yes, I will (AI)joyfully sing of Your faithfulness in the (AJ)morning,
For You have been my (AK)refuge
And a (AL)place of refuge on the day of my distress.
17 (AM)My strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (AN)refuge, the [t]God who shows me favor.
Footnotes
- Psalm 59 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
- Psalm 59 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm
- Psalm 59 Title 1 Sam 19:11
- Psalm 59:1 Or May You put me in an inaccessibly high place
- Psalm 59:3 Or lain in wait
- Psalm 59:3 Lit soul
- Psalm 59:3 Or Strong
- Psalm 59:4 Lit Without guilt
- Psalm 59:4 Lit meet
- Psalm 59:5 Lit visit
- Psalm 59:9 LXX, some mss and some ancient versions my strength (cf. v 17)
- Psalm 59:10 Many mss and some ancient versions The God of my faithfulness
- Psalm 59:11 Or Make them wander
- Psalm 59:12 Or The sin of their mouth is the word of their lips,
- Psalm 59:13 Lit Bring to an end
- Psalm 59:13 Lit Bring to an end
- Psalm 59:13 Or is Ruler
- Psalm 59:15 Lit to eat
- Psalm 59:15 Another reading is linger all night
- Psalm 59:17 Lit God of my favor
Psalm 59
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 59
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.(A)
2 Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty, save me.(B)
3 Even now they lie in wait for my life;
the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,(C)
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!(D)
5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah(E)
6 Each evening they come back
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.(F)
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words[a] on their lips,
for “Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”(G)
8 But you laugh at them, O Lord;
you hold all the nations in derision.(H)
9 O my strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.(I)
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.(J)
11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.(K)
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,(L)
13 consume them in wrath;
consume them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob. Selah(M)
14 Each evening they come back
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.(N)
15 They roam about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
1 Samuel 19:11-18
New American Standard Bible
11 Then (A)Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, informed him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death!” 12 (B)So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled, and escaped. 13 And 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 clothing. 14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “(D)He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on [b]his bed, so that I may put him to death.” 16 When the messengers entered, 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 betrayed 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 So David fled and escaped, and came (F)to Samuel at Ramah; and he informed him of everything that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in (G)Naioth.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 19:13 Heb teraphim
- 1 Samuel 19:15 Lit the
- 1 Samuel 19:16 Heb teraphim
1 Samuel 19:11-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, planning to kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through the window; he fled away and escaped.(A) 13 Michal took an idol[a] and laid it on the bed; she put a net[b] of goats’ hair on its head and covered it with the clothes. 14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”(B) 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16 When the messengers came in, the idol[c] was in the bed, with the covering[d] of goats’ hair on its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill you?’ ”
David Joins Samuel in Ramah
18 Now David fled and escaped; he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and settled at Naioth.(C)
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.