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.
Psalm 59
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
59 Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the inscription of a title, to David himself, for doctrine,
2 When he set fire to Mesopotamia of Syria and Sobal and Joab returned and slew of Edom, in the vale of the saltpits, twelve thousand men.
3 O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroyed us; thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us.
4 Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled it: heal thou the breaches thereof, for it has been moved.
5 Thou hast shewn thy people hard things; thou hast made us drink wine of sorrow.
6 Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee: that they may flee from before the bow: That thy beloved may be delivered.
7 Save me with thy right hand, and hear me.
8 God hath spoken in his holy place: I will rejoice, and I will divide Sichem; and will mete out the vale of tabernacles.
9 Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine: and Ephraim is the strength of my head. Juda is my king:
10 Moab is the pot of my hope. Into Edom will I stretch out my shoe: to me the foreigners are made subject.
11 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
12 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go out with our armies?
13 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the salvation of man.
14 Through God we shall do mightily: and he shall bring to nothing them that afflict us.
Psalm 59
The Message
59 1-2 My God! Rescue me from my enemies,
defend me from these mutineers.
Rescue me from their dirty tricks,
save me from their hit men.
3-4 Desperadoes have ganged up on me,
they’re hiding in ambush for me.
I did nothing to deserve this, God,
crossed no one, wronged no one.
All the same, they’re after me,
determined to get me.
4-5 Wake up and see for yourself! You’re God,
God-of-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God!
Get on the job and take care of these pagans,
don’t be soft on these hard cases.
6-7 They return when the sun goes down,
They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.
Then suddenly they’re all at the gate,
Snarling invective, drawn daggers in their teeth.
They think they’ll never get caught.
8-10 But you, God, break out laughing;
you treat the godless nations like jokes.
Strong God, I’m watching you do it,
I can always count on you.
God in dependable love shows up on time,
shows me my enemies in ruin.
11-13 Don’t make quick work of them, God,
lest my people forget.
Bring them down in slow motion,
take them apart piece by piece.
Let all their mean-mouthed arrogance
catch up with them,
Catch them out and bring them down
—every muttered curse
—every barefaced lie.
Finish them off in fine style!
Finish them off for good!
Then all the world will see
that God rules well in Jacob,
everywhere that God’s in charge.
14-15 They return when the sun goes down,
They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.
They scavenge for bones,
And bite the hand that feeds them.
16-17 And me? I’m singing your prowess,
shouting at dawn your largesse,
For you’ve been a safe place for me,
a good place to hide.
Strong God, I’m watching you do it,
I can always count on you—
God, my dependable love.
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