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]
Notas al pie
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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).
- Psalm 54:1 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
- Psalm 54:2 tn Heb “to the words of my mouth.”
- 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.
- Psalm 54:3 tn Heb “rise against me.”
- Psalm 54:3 tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”
- Psalm 54:4 tn Or “my helper.”
- Psalm 54:4 tn Or “sustain my life.”
- Psalm 54:5 tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.
- 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.
- Psalm 54:5 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
- Psalm 54:6 tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve/vow to praise.
- Psalm 54:7 tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the Lord’s name (cf. v. 6).
- 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.
- Psalm 54:7 tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”
Psalm 54
International Standard Version
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic instruction,[a] when the Ziphites came and told Saul, “David is hiding among us, is he not?”
A Prayer in Times of Trouble
54 God, by your name deliver me,
and by your power vindicate me.
2 God, listen to my prayer,
and pay attention to the words of my mouth.
3 For the arrogant have arisen against me;
oppressors have sought to take my life.
They do not keep God in mind![b]
4 Look, God is my helper;
the Lord is with those who are guarding my life.
5 He will turn the evil upon those who lie in wait for me.
Cut them off with your truth.
6 With a free will offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, Lord,
because it is good,
7 for he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eyes have seen the end of[c] my enemies.
Notas al pie
- Psalm 54:1 Lit. maskil
- Psalm 54:3 Lit. before them
- Psalm 54:7 The Heb. lacks the end of
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.
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- 1 Samuel 23:20 tn Heb “to all the desire of your soul to come down.”
- 1 Samuel 23:22 tn Heb “know and see.” The expression is a hendiadys. See also v. 23.
- 1 Samuel 23:22 tn Heb “his place where his foot is.”
- 1 Samuel 23:23 tn Heb “established.”
- 1 Samuel 23:23 tn Heb “I will search him out.”
- 1 Samuel 23:24 sn This section of the rift valley is along the western part of the Dead Sea.
- 1 Samuel 23:25 tn Heb “to search.”
1 Samuel 23:19-25
International Standard Version
The People of Ziph Betray David
19 People from Ziph came up to Saul at Gibeah and informed him, “David is hiding with us in the strongholds in Horesh and on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon, isn’t he? 20 Now, your majesty, whenever you want to come down,[a] come down, and our part will be to hand him over to the king.”
21 Saul said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you have been gracious to me. 22 Go and again make sure, find out and investigate where he is[b] and who has seen him there, for people tell me that he’s very clever. 23 Investigate and find out all the hiding places there where he hides, and return to me with reliable information. Then I’ll go down with you, and if he’s in the land, I’ll search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 The people from Ziph got up and left Saul, while David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.
25 When Saul and his men went to search for David,[c] some people[d] told David, and he went down to the Rock of Escape[e] and remained in the wilderness of Maon. Saul heard this and he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon.
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- 1 Samuel 23:20 Lit. according to your desire to come down
- 1 Samuel 23:22 Lit. his place where his foot is
- 1 Samuel 23:25 The Heb. lacks for David
- 1 Samuel 23:25 Lit. David, they
- 1 Samuel 23:25 The Heb. lacks of Escape; cf. v.28
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