Add parallel Print Page Options

Answered Prayer for Deliverance from Adversaries

For the music director, with stringed instruments.

A maskil of David,

when the Ziphites went and said to Saul,

“Is not David hiding himself among us?”[a]

54 O God, by your name save me,
and by your power vindicate me.
O God, hear my prayer;
heed the words of my mouth.
For foreigners have risen against me,
and ruthless men seek my life.
They have not set God before them. Selah
See, God is my helper;
The Lord is with those who sustain my life.[b]
He will repay[c] my enemies for their[d] evil;
in your faithfulness destroy them.
I will freely sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name,
O Yahweh, because it is good.
Because he has delivered me from all trouble,
and my eye has looked with satisfaction on my enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  2. Psalm 54:4 Or “The Lord is the sustainer of my life.”
  3. Psalm 54:5 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
  4. Psalm 54:5 Hebrew “the”

Psalm 54

Prayer for Vindication

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “David is in hiding among us.”

Save me, O God, by your name,
    and vindicate me by your might.(A)
Hear my prayer, O God;
    give ear to the words of my mouth.(B)

For the insolent have risen against me;
    the ruthless seek my life;
    they do not set God before them. Selah(C)

But surely, God is my helper;
    the Lord is the upholder of[a] my life.(D)
He will repay my enemies for their evil.
    In your faithfulness, put an end to them.(E)

With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
    I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.(F)
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
    and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.(G)

Footnotes

  1. 54.4 Gk Syr Jerome: Heb is of those who uphold or is with those who uphold

19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which is south of Jeshimon? 20 So then, O king, whenever you want[a] to come down, come down, and it will be for us to deliver him into the hand of the king.” 21 And Saul said to them, “May you be blessed by Yahweh, for you have shown me compassion! 22 Go, please, make certain again! Find out and see exactly where he is[b] and who has seen him there! For they have said to me, ‘He is very cunning.’ 23 Look, find out all of the hiding places where he hides. Then return to me with dependable information,[c] and I will go with you. And then if he is there in the land, then I will seek him among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 Then they got up and went to Ziph before Saul.

Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah, to the south of Jeshimon. 25 And Saul and his men went to seek him, and they told David, so he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard this, he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 23:20 Literally “for all the wanting of your soul”
  2. 1 Samuel 23:22 Literally “his place where his foot is
  3. 1 Samuel 23:23 Literally “to being established”

19 Then some Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “David is hiding among us in the strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon.(A) 20 Now, O king, whenever you wish to come down, do so, and our part will be to surrender him into the king’s hand.”(B) 21 Saul said, “May you be blessed by the Lord for showing me compassion!(C) 22 Go and make sure once more; find out exactly where he is and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is very cunning. 23 Look around and learn all the hiding places where he lurks and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you, and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.

David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.(D) 25 Saul and his men went to search for him. When David was told, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon.

Read full chapter