Old Testament

New Testament

Psalm 52-63
Psalm 52
Your Tongue Is a Razor
For the choir director. A maskil[] by David.
When Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul
and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”[]
Doeg's Sin
1Why do you boast about evil, you hero?
The mercy of God endures all day long.
2Your tongue plans destruction.
It is like a sharpened razor, you scheming liar.
3You love evil rather than good.
You love lying rather than speaking what is right. Interlude
4You lying tongue, you love every word that devours!
Doeg's Judgment
5But God will tear you down forever.
He will grab you and pull you out of your tent.
He will uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude
6Then the righteous will see and fear.
Then they will laugh at him:
7“Look, here is the man who did not make God his stronghold,
but trusted in the greatness of his wealth.
He grew strong by his destructive deeds!”
David's Delivery
8But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
9I will thank you forever because you have done this.
I will hope in your name in the presence of your favored ones
because it is good.
Psalm 53
The Fool
For the choir director. According to mahalath.[] A maskil by David.
A Description of the Fool
1The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt. They commit horrible evil.
There is no one who does good.
2God looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam
to see if there is anyone who understands,
anyone who seeks God.
3Every single one has turned back.
Altogether they have become rotten.
There is no one who does good.
There is not even one.
The Final Fate of the Fool
4Don't they know, all those evildoers,
who devour my people as if they were eating bread?
They do not call on God.
5There they are, terrified, where there was nothing to fear.
For God scattered the bones of those who camped against you.
You put them to shame, because God despised them.
Closing Prayer
6Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?[]
When God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Psalm 54
Ruthless Men Seek My Life
For the choir director. With stringed instruments.
A maskil by David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Isn't David hiding himself with us?”[]
The Plea
1God, save me by your name.
By your power judge me justly.
2God, hear my prayer.
Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.
The Problem
3For strangers have risen up against me.
Ruthless men seek my life.
They pay no attention to God. Interlude
The Solution
4Indeed, God is my helper.
The Lord is the one who preserves my life.
5Let evil return on those who oppress me.
In your faithfulness destroy them.
The Outcome
6I will sacrifice willingly to you.
I will praise your name, O Lord, because it is good.
7Surely, from all my distress he has delivered me.
My eyes have looked down on my enemies.
Psalm 55
My Friend Betrays Me
For the choir director. With stringed instruments.
A maskil by David.
Opening Plea
1Turn your ear to my prayer, O God.
Do not hide from my plea for mercy.
2Pay attention to me and answer me.
The Problem
I am troubled in my thoughts and I groan
3because of talk from the enemy,
because of oppression from the wicked,
because they dump evil on me,
and in anger they hold a grudge against me.
4My heart is in anguish within me.
The terrors of death fall on me.
5Fear and trembling come over me.
Horror covers me.
6So I say, “I wish I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find a place to rest.
7Yes, I would flee far away.
I would stay in the wilderness. Interlude
8I would hurry to find shelter,
far from the violent wind, far from the storm.”
9Swallow them up, O Lord.
Confuse their speech,
for I see violence and contention in the city.
10Day and night they sneak around on its walls.
Evil and trouble are in the city.
11Destruction lurks within it.
Treachery and deceit never leave its streets.
12For it is not an enemy who insults me—
I could bear that.
It is not someone who hated me who rises up against me—
I could hide from him.
13But it is you, a man who served with me,
my colleague and my associate,
14with whom I shared pleasant discussions
as we walked with the excited crowd at God's house.
Plea for Judgment
15Let deadly destruction come on them.
Let them go down to the grave alive,
because evil is at home in their hearts.
Confidence in Judgment
16As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
17Evening, morning, and noon I cry out and I sigh,
and he hears my voice.
18In peace he redeems my life from the assault against me,
even when many are against me.
19God will hear, and he will punish them
—yes, he is seated on his throne from eternity!— Interlude
because they never change, and they do not fear God.
The Traitor's Treachery
20The traitor reaches out his hand against those at peace with him.
He breaks his agreement.[]
21His flattery is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart.
His words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn daggers.
God's Solution
22Place your burden on the Lord,
and he will support you.
He will never allow the righteous to fall.
23But you, O God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction.
Bloody and deceitful men will not live half their days.
But as for me, I will trust in you.
Psalm 56
When I Am Afraid
For the choir director. “A Dove on Distant Oaks.”[]
By David. A miktam.[]
When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.[]
The Enemies
1Be merciful to me, O God, for a man pants as he pursues me.[]
All day long an attacker presses against me.
2Those who spy on me pant as they pursue me all day long.
Yes, many are attacking me boldly.
David's Trust
3On the day when I am afraid, I will trust in you.
4In God I praise his word.
In God I trust. I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
The Enemies
5All day long they hurt my cause.[]
All their thoughts against me are evil.
6They gather together. They hide.
They try to trip me by grabbing my heels
while they wait to take my life.
David's Trust
7Because of their wickedness do not let them escape.[]
In your anger bring down the peoples, O God.
8You keep a record of my tossing and turning.[]
Keep my tears in your bottle.
Aren't they all listed in your book?
9Then my enemies will turn back on the day when I call.
This is how I will know that God is for me.
10In God I praise a word.[]
In the Lord I praise a word.
11In God I trust. I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
David's Promise
12My vows to you are binding, O God.
I will complete my thank offerings to you,
13because you have delivered my life from death.
Have you not delivered my feet from stumbling
so I can walk before God in the light of life?
Psalm 57
Refuge in the Shadow of Your Wings
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.”[] By David. A miktam.
When he fled from Saul. In the cave.[]
The Opening Plea
1Have mercy on me, O God,
have mercy on me,
because my soul has taken refuge in you.
In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge
until destruction has passed by.
2I call to God Most High,
to God, who completes his plans for me.[]
3He will send from heaven, and he will save me.
He puts to shame the one who pants as he pursues me. Interlude
God will send his mercy and his faithfulness.
The Problem
4My life is spent among lions.
I lie down among ferocious men,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongue is a sharp sword.
5Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
May your glory be over all the earth.
6They spread a net for my steps.
My soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in front of me.
They have fallen into it. Interlude
David's Confidence
7My heart is steadfast, O God.
My heart is steadfast.
I will sing and I will make music.
8Awake, my soul![]
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O Lord.
I will make music to you among the nations,[]
10because your great mercy reaches above the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
11Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
Psalm 58
Do You Rulers Speak Justly?
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.”[] By David. A miktam.
Unjust Rulers
1Do you “gods” really speak righteously?[]
Do you sons of Adam judge rightly?
2No, in your heart you commit injustices.
On the earth your hands distribute violence.
3The wicked go off course already from the womb.
From the belly they go astray. They speak lies.
4Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like a deaf cobra that has stopped its ears,
5that will not listen to the sound of the charmers,
however skillful the spellbinder may be.
The Curse on Unjust Rulers
6O God, break their teeth in their mouths.
Tear out the fangs of the young lions, Lord!
7Let them vanish like water that flows away.
When he draws his bow, let his arrows be cut off.[]
8As a slug melts away, so let him disappear.
Like a stillborn child may they not see the sun.
9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether the thorns are green or dry—they will be swept away.[]
The Joy of the Righteous
10The righteous one will be glad when he sees vengeance.
He will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11Then people will say, “Surely there is fruit for the righteous.
Surely there is a God judging on the earth.”
Psalm 59
They Lie in Wait
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.”[] By David. A miktam.
When Saul had sent men, and they watched the house to kill him.[]
Opening Plea
1Deliver me from my enemies, my God.
You set me high above those who rise up against me.
2Deliver me from evildoers.
Save me from bloodthirsty men.
The Viciousness of the Enemy
3Yes, look how they lie in ambush to take my life!
Strong men gather against me,
But it is not because I have rebelled,
not because I have sinned, O Lord.
4I am not guilty,
yet they run to take up their positions against me.
Rise up to meet me and see!
5You, O Lord, God of Armies, the God of Israel,
wake up and confront all the nations.
Do not show mercy to all the wicked traitors. Interlude
6They return at evening. They growl like dogs.
They prowl around the city.
7Look, they gush from their mouths.
Their lips are swords,
so they say, “Who hears?”
Conclusion and Refrain
8But you laugh at them, Lord.
You scoff at all those nations.
9O my Strength, I watch for you,
because God is my high fortress.
Confidence
10My merciful God will go ahead of me.
God will make me look down on those who slander me.
The Judgment on the Enemies
11Do not kill them, or my people may forget.
In your might make them wander about.
Bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12The sin of their mouth is the words of their lips,
so let them be caught in their pride,
because of the curses and lies they proclaim.
13Consume them in wrath.
Consume them till they are no more.
Then they will know to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob. Interlude
14They return at evening. They growl like dogs.
They prowl around the city.
15They wander about for food.
If not satisfied, they howl.
Conclusion and Refrain
16But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will shout about your mercy,
because you are a high fortress for me,
a refuge in the day of my distress.
17O my Strength, to you I make music,
because God is my high fortress, my merciful God.
Psalm 60
You Have Rejected Us
For the choir director. “The Lily of Testimony.”[] A miktam by David. For teaching.
When he waged war against Aram of the Two Rivers and against Aram Zobah, and Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand men of Edom in the Valley of Salt.[]
David's Prayer
1God, you have rejected us.
You have broken us down.
You have been angry. Return to us!
2You have shaken the earth. You have torn it open.
Heal its fractures, for it is about to collapse.
3You have made your people suffer hardship.
You gave us wine to drink that makes us stagger.
4You have set up a signal flag for those who fear you,
to be raised up against the bow.[] Interlude
5Save us with your right hand and answer us,
so that those you love may be delivered.
God's Reply
6God has spoken in his holiness:[]
“I will triumph. I will distribute Shechem,
and I will measure off the Valley of Succoth.
7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.
8Moab is my washbasin. On Edom I toss my sandal.
I shout aloud over Philistia.”[]
David's Prayer
9Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10God, is it not you, who have rejected us?
God, is it not you, who no longer go out with our armies?
11Give us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
12In God we will do mighty deeds.
He is the one who will trample our foes.
Psalm 61
A Soldier's Prayer From the End of the Earth
For the choir director. On a stringed instrument. By David.
A Prayer from the End of the Earth
1Hear my cry, O God.
Pay attention to my prayer.
2From the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me up on to the rock that is higher than I.
3For you have been a refuge for me,
a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
4I want to keep living in your tent forever.
I will take refuge under the cover of your wings. Interlude
5For you, God, have heard my vows.
You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6Add days to the days of the king.
His years will last through all generations.
7Let him be seated in God's presence forever.
Appoint your mercy and truth to protect him.
8Then will I make music to your name forever,
to fulfill my vows day after day.
Psalm 62
My Soul Rests in God Alone
For the choir director. According to Jeduthun.[] A psalm by David.
God Alone is My Refuge
1My soul rests quietly in God alone.
My salvation is from him.
2He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.
I will not be disturbed.
3How long will you threaten a man?
Do all of you want to murder him,
like a leaning wall, like a fence to be pushed down?
4Yes, they plan to push him down from his lofty place.
They are delighted with deceit.
With their mouths they bless,
but inside they curse. Interlude
God Alone is My Refuge
5My soul, rest quietly in God alone,
for my hope comes from him.
6He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.
I will not be disturbed.
7My salvation and my honor depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
8Trust in him at all times, you people.
Pour out your hearts before him.
God is a refuge for us. Interlude
Strength in God, Not in Man
9Yes, the sons of Adam are only a breath.
The sons of man are a delusion.
On a scale they weigh nothing.
They are nothing but air.[]
10Do not trust in extortion.
Do not put empty confidence in stolen goods.
If your wealth grows, do not set your heart on it.
11One thing God has spoken,
two things that I have heard:
that God has strength
12and that you, Lord, have mercy.
Surely you will repay each person
according to what he has done.
Psalm 63
My Soul Thirsts for You
A psalm by David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.[]
Thirsting for God
1God, you are my God. Eagerly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you,
in a dry and dreary land without water.
2Yes, in the sanctuary I have watched you
to see your power and your glory.
Joy Even in Adversity
3Because your mercy is better than life,
my lips will worship you.
4Yes, I will bless you as long as I live.
In your name I will lift up my hands.
5My soul will be satisfied with rich food.[]
My mouth will praise you with lips filled with songs.
6Whenever I remember you on my bed,
throughout the watches of the night I meditate on you.
7Because you are a help for me,
I sing for joy under the shade of your wings.
8My soul clings to you.
Your right hand upholds me.
Destruction for the Defiant
9But those who seek my life will go to destruction.
They will go into the depths of the earth.
10They will be given over to the power of the sword.
They will become food for foxes.[]
11But the king will rejoice in God.
All who swear by him will praise him,
but the mouth of those speaking lies will be shut.

Footnotes

  • 52:0 A maskil is a type of hymn. It means a song that makes one wise or a skillful song. Other maskils include Psalms 53–55.
  • 52:0 See 1 Samuel 21 and 22.
  • 53:0 A musical term of uncertain meaning, most likely a melody
  • 53:6 Or O that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
  • 54:0 See 1 Samuel 23 and 26.
  • 55:20 Or violates his treaty or violates his covenant
  • 56:0 This may be the name of the tune. The translation reads the Hebrew word alm as a word which means oaks or terebinths. The standard Hebrew text reads it as a word for silent. This would result in the translation silent dove, distant ones.
  • 56:0 A miktam is a type of song. The meaning is uncertain. It may mean a golden psalm or a choice piece or a psalm inscribed on a tablet. Miktams include Psalms 57–60.
  • 56:0 See 1 Samuel 21.
  • 56:1 Or hotly pursues me. Or the verb may be a homonym that means tramples me.
  • 56:5 Or they twist my words
  • 56:7 The Hebrew reads because of wickedness, deliverance to them. This does not make sense in the context. The translation assumes there was an accidental omission of a negative. Another way to handle the problem is to make the phrase a question: because of their wickedness, will they escape?
  • 56:8 Or wandering
  • 56:10 This cryptic expression is a literal translation.
  • 57:0 This may be the name of the tune.
  • 57:0 The cave at Adullam in 1 Samuel 22 or the cave at En Gedi in 1 Samuel 24
  • 57:2 Or avenges me
  • 57:8 Literally my glory
  • 57:9 The main Hebrew text divides the word for nations into two words to create the derogatory expression non-nations.
  • 58:0 This may be the name of the tune.
  • 58:1 This translation follows a correction of the text followed by most modern versions. The Hebrew and Greek read: Do you really speak justice in silence?
  • 58:7 The text and its meaning are uncertain. Literally it seems to read: he treads his arrows like they are cut off/dry up.
  • 58:9 The meaning is uncertain. Literally it seems to read: like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.
  • 59:0 This may be the name of the tune.
  • 59:0 See 1 Samuel 19.
  • 60:0 This may be the name of the tune.
  • 60:0 See 2 Samuel 8 and 10.
  • 60:4 The line is difficult and the meaning is uncertain.
  • 60:6 Or holy place
  • 60:8 The translation follows an alternate Hebrew reading. The main Hebrew text reads because of me, Philistia, shout aloud. These verses may be a confident assertion by David rather than a statement of the Lord.
  • 62:0 Jeduthun was one of David's directors of music. According to Jeduthun may indicate a musical style or melody associated with Jeduthun.
  • 62:9 Or vapor. Here, however, the image is light as air.
  • 63:0 This location could apply to several periods during his long flight from Saul.
  • 63:5 Literally with fat
  • 63:10 Or jackals