Psalm 57
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 57
Praise for God’s Protection
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. When he fled before Saul into the cave.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in you.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings
until danger passes.(B)
2 I call to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.[a](C)
3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me,
challenging the one who tramples me.(D)Selah
God sends his faithful love and truth.(E)
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down among devouring lions—
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.(F)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let your glory be over the whole earth.(G)
6 They prepared a net for my steps;
I was despondent.
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it!(H)Selah
7 My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident.
I will sing; I will sing praises.(I)
8 Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(J)
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(K)
10 For your faithful love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.(L)
11 God, be exalted above the heavens;(M)
let your glory be over the whole earth.(N)
Footnotes
- 57:2 Or who avenges me
Psalm 57
Common English Bible
Psalm 57
For the music leader. Do not destroy. A miktam[a] of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.
57 Have mercy on me, God;
have mercy on me
because I[b] have taken refuge in you.
I take refuge
in the shadow of your wings
until destruction passes by.
2 I call out to God Most High—
to God, who comes through for me.
3 He sends orders from heaven and saves me,
rebukes the one who tramples me. Selah
God sends his loyal love and faithfulness.
4 My life is in the middle of a pack of lions.
I lie down among those who devour humans.
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongues are sharpened swords.
5 Exalt yourself, God, higher than heaven!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They laid a net for my feet to bring me down;
they dug a pit for me,
but they fell into it instead! Selah
7 My heart is unwavering, God—
my heart is unwavering.
I will sing and make music.
8 Wake up, my glory!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake the dawn itself!
9 I will give thanks to you,
my Lord,
among all the peoples;
I will make music to you among the nations
10 because your faithful love
is as high as heaven;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
11 Exalt yourself, God, higher than heaven!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
Footnotes
- Psalm 57:1 Perhaps inscription
- Psalm 57:1 Or my soul
1 Samuel 24
Christian Standard Bible
David Spares Saul
24 When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines,(A) he was told, “David is in the wilderness near En-gedi.”(B) 2 So Saul took three thousand of Israel’s fit young men(C) and went to look for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 When Saul came to the sheep pens along the road, a cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself.[a](D) David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave,(E) 4 so they said to him, “Look, this is the day the Lord told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.’” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.
5 Afterward, David’s conscience bothered[b](F) him because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.[c] 6 He said to his men, “As the Lord is my witness, I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed.(G) I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”(H) 7 With these words David persuaded[d] his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul.
Then Saul left the cave and went on his way. 8 After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David knelt low with his face to the ground and paid homage.(I) 9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’? 10 You can see with your own eyes that the Lord handed you over to me today in the cave.(J) Someone advised me to kill you,(K) but I[e][f] took pity on you and said: I won’t lift my hand against my lord, since he is the Lord’s anointed. 11 Look, my father!(L) Look at the corner of your robe in my hand, for I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. Recognize[g] that I’ve committed no crime or rebellion. I haven’t sinned against you even though you are hunting me down to take my life.(M)
12 “May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord take vengeance on you for me, but my hand will never be against you.(N) 13 As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness comes from wicked people.’(O) My hand will never be against you. 14 Who has the king of Israel come after? What are you chasing after? A dead dog? A single flea?(P) 15 May the Lord be judge and decide between you and me. May he take notice and plead my case and deliver[h] me from you.”(Q)
16 When David finished saying these things to him, Saul replied, “Is that your voice, David my son?” (R) Then Saul wept aloud 17 and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have done what is good to me though I have done what is evil to you.(S) 18 You yourself have told me today what good you did for me: when the Lord handed me over to you, you didn’t kill me.(T) 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him go unharmed?[i](U) May the Lord repay you with good for what you’ve done for me today.
20 “Now I know for certain you will be king, and the kingdom of Israel will be established[j] in your hand.(V) 21 Therefore swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”(W) 22 So David swore to Saul. Then Saul went back home, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.(X)
Read full chapter
1 Samuel 24
Common English Bible
David spares Saul’s life
24 [a] Even as Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was informed that David was in the En-gedi wilderness. 2 So Saul took three thousand men selected from all Israel and went to look for David and his soldiers near the rocks of the wild goats. 3 He came to the sheep pens beside the road where there was a cave. Saul went into the cave to use the restroom.[b] Meanwhile, David and his soldiers were sitting in the very back of the cave.
4 David’s soldiers said to him, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he promised you, ‘I will hand your enemy over to you, and you can do to him whatever you think best.’” So David snuck up and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 But immediately David felt horrible that he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.[c]
6 “The Lord forbid,” he told his men, “that I should do something like that to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lift my hand against him, because he’s the Lord’s anointed!” 7 So David held his soldiers in check by what he said,[d] and he wouldn’t allow them to attack Saul. Saul then left the cave and went on his way.
8 Then David also went out of the cave and yelled after Saul, “My master the king!” Saul looked back, and David bowed low out of respect, nose to the ground.
9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen when people say, ‘David wants to ruin you’? 10 Look! Today your own eyes have seen that the Lord handed you over to me in the cave. But I refused[e] to kill you. I spared you, saying, ‘I won’t lift a hand against my master because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 Look here, my protector! See the corner of your robe in my hand? I cut off the corner of your robe but didn’t kill you. So know now that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I haven’t wronged you, but you are hunting me down, trying to kill me. 12 May the Lord judge between me and you! May the Lord take vengeance on you for me, but I won’t lift a hand against you. 13 As the old proverb goes, ‘Evil deeds come from evildoers!’ but I won’t lift a hand against you. 14 So who is Israel’s king coming after? Who are you chasing? A dead dog? A single flea? 15 May the Lord be the judge and decide between you and me. May he see what has happened, argue my case, and vindicate me against you!”
16 As soon as David finished saying all this to Saul, Saul said, “David, my son, is that your voice?” Then he broke down in tears, 17 telling David, “You are more righteous than I am because you have treated me generously, but I have treated you terribly. 18 Today you’ve told me the good you have done for me—how the Lord handed me over to you, but how you didn’t kill me. 19 When someone finds an enemy, do they send the enemy away in peace? May the Lord repay you with good for what you have done for me today. 20 Now even I know that you will definitely become king, and Israel’s kingdom will flourish in your hands. 21 Because of that, make a solemn pledge to me by the Lord that you won’t kill off my descendants after I’m gone and that you won’t destroy my name from my family lineage.”
22 David made a solemn pledge to Saul. Then Saul went back home, but David and his soldiers went up to the fortress.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 24:1 24:2 in Heb
- 1 Samuel 24:3 Or to cover his feet (a euphemism)
- 1 Samuel 24:5 LXX, Syr, Targ; MT lacks robe.
- 1 Samuel 24:7 Heb uncertain
- 1 Samuel 24:10 LXX; MT Some said
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible