Psalm 57-60
Evangelical Heritage Version
Psalm 57
Refuge in the Shadow of Your Wings
(Psalm 57:7-11 parallels Psalm 108:1-5)
Heading
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.”[a] By David. A miktam.
When he fled from Saul. In the cave.[b]
The Opening Plea
1 Have 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.
2 I call to God Most High,
to God, who completes his plans for me.[c]
3 He will send from heaven, and he will save me. Interlude
He puts to shame the one who pants as he pursues me.[d]
God will send his mercy and his faithfulness.
The Problem
4 My life is spent among lions.
I lie down among ferocious men,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongue is a sharp sword.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
May your glory be over all the earth.
6 They spread a net for my steps.
My soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in front of me. Interlude
They have fallen into it.
David’s Confidence
7 My heart is steadfast, O God.
My heart is steadfast.
I will sing and I will make music.
8 Awake, my soul![e]
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O Lord.
I will make music to you among the nations,[f]
10 because your great mercy reaches above the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
Psalm 58
Do You Rulers Speak Justly?
Heading
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.”[g] By David. A miktam.
Unjust Rulers
1 Do you “gods” really speak righteously?[h]
Do you sons of Adam judge rightly?
2 No, in your heart you commit injustices.
On the earth your hands distribute violence.
3 The wicked go off course already from the womb.
From the belly they go astray. They speak lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like a deaf cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not listen to the sound of the charmers,
however skillful the spellbinder may be.
The Curse on Unjust Rulers
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouths.
Tear out the fangs of the young lions, Lord!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away.
When he draws his bow, let his arrows be cut off.[i]
8 As a slug melts away as it crawls along, so let him disappear.
Like a stillborn child may they not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether the thorns are green or dry—they will be swept away.[j]
The Joy of the Righteous
10 The righteous one will be glad when he sees vengeance.
He will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then 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
Heading
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.”[k] By David. A miktam.
When Saul had sent men, and they watched the house to kill David.[l]
Opening Plea
1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God.
You set me high above those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers.
Save me from bloodthirsty men.
The Viciousness of the Enemy
3 Yes, 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.
4 I am not guilty,
yet they run to take up their positions against me.
Rise up to meet me and see!
5 You, O Lord, God of Armies, the God of Israel,
wake up and confront all the nations. Interlude
Do not show mercy to all the wicked traitors.
6 They return at evening. They growl like dogs.
They prowl around the city.
7 Look, they gush from their mouths.
Their lips are swords,
so they say, “Who hears?”
Conclusion and Refrain
8 But you laugh at them, Lord.
You scoff at all those nations.
9 O my Strength, I watch for you,
because God is my high fortress.
Confidence
10 My merciful God will go ahead of me.
God will make me look down on those who slander me.
The Judgment on the Enemies
11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget.
In your might make them wander about.
Bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 The 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.
13 Consume them in wrath.
Consume them till they are no more.
Then they will know to the ends of the earth Interlude
that God rules over Jacob.
14 They return at evening. They growl like dogs.
They prowl around the city.
15 They wander about for food.
If not satisfied, they howl.
Conclusion and Refrain
16 But 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.
17 O my Strength, to you I make music,
because God is my high fortress, my merciful God.
Psalm 60
You Have Rejected Us
(Psalm 60:5-12 parallels Psalm 108:6-13)
Heading
For the choir director. “The Lily of Testimony.”[m] A miktam by David.
For teaching. When he waged war against Aram Naharaim and against Aram Zobah, and Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand men of Edom in the Valley of Salt.[n]
David’s Prayer
1 God, you have rejected us.
You have broken us down.
You have been angry. Return to us!
2 You have shaken the earth. You have torn it open.
Heal its fractures, for it is about to collapse.
3 You have made your people suffer hardship.
You gave us wine to drink that makes us stagger.
4 You have set up a signal flag for those who fear you, Interlude
to be raised up against the bow.[o]
5 Save us with your right hand and answer us,
so that those you love may be delivered.
God’s Reply
6 God has spoken in his holiness:[p]
“I will triumph. I will distribute Shechem,
and I will measure off the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin. On Edom I toss my sandal.
I shout aloud over Philistia.”[q][r]
David’s Prayer
9 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 God, is it not you, who have rejected us?
God, is it not you, who no longer go out with our armies?
11 Give us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
12 In God we will do mighty deeds.
He is the one who will trample our foes.
Footnotes
- Psalm 57:1 This may be the name of the tune.
- Psalm 57:1 The cave at Adullam in 1 Samuel 22 or the cave at En Gedi in 1 Samuel 24
- Psalm 57:2 Or avenges me
- Psalm 57:3 Or who tramples me
- Psalm 57:8 Literally my glory
- Psalm 57:9 The main Hebrew text divides the word for nations into two words to create the derogatory expression non-nations.
- Psalm 58:1 This may be the name of the tune.
- Psalm 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?
- Psalm 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.
- Psalm 58:9 The meaning is uncertain. Literally it seems to read: like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.
- Psalm 59:1 This may be the name of the tune.
- Psalm 59:1 See 1 Samuel 19.
- Psalm 60:1 This may be the name of the tune.
- Psalm 60:1 See 2 Samuel 8 and 10.
- Psalm 60:4 The line is difficult and the meaning is uncertain.
- Psalm 60:6 Or holy place
- Psalm 60:8 The translation follows an alternate Hebrew reading. The main Hebrew text reads because of me, Philistia, shout aloud.
- Psalm 60:8 These verses may be a confident assertion by David rather than a statement of the Lord.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.