Psalm 56–60

PSALM 56

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

¹Be gracious to me, O God, for men trample upon me;

all day long foemen oppress me;

²my enemies trample upon me all day long,

for many fight against me proudly.

³When I am afraid,

I put my trust in thee.

⁴In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust without a fear.

What can flesh do to me?

⁵All day long they seek to injure my cause;

all their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶They band themselves together, they lurk,

they watch my steps.

As they have waited for my life,

⁷so recompense^o them for their crime;

in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸Thou hast kept count of my tossings;

put thou my tears in thy bottle!

Are they not in thy book?

⁹Then my enemies will be turned back

in the day when I call.

This I know, that^p God is for me.

¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

¹¹in God I trust without a fear.

What can man do to me?

¹²My vows to thee I must perform, O God;

I will render thank offerings to thee.

¹³For thou hast delivered my soul from death,

yea, my feet from falling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.

PSALM 57

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

¹Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in thee my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge,

till the storms of destruction pass by.

²I cry to God Most High,

to God who fulfils his purpose for me.

³He will send from heaven and save me,

he will put to shame those who trample upon me. Selah

God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

⁴I lie in the midst of lions

that greedily devour^q the sons of men;

their teeth are spears and arrows,

their tongues sharp swords.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let thy glory be over all the earth!

⁶They set a net for my steps;

my soul was bowed down.

They dug a pit in my way,

but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast!

I will sing and make melody!

⁸Awake, my soul!

Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

⁹I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to thee among the nations.

¹⁰For thy steadfast love is great to the heavens,

thy faithfulness to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let thy glory be over all the earth!

PSALM 58

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David.

¹Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?

Do you judge the sons of men uprightly?

²Nay, in your hearts you devise wrongs;

your hands deal out violence on earth.

³The wicked go astray from the womb,

they err from their birth, speaking lies.

⁴They have venom like the venom of a serpent,

like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

⁵so that it does not hear the voice of charmers

or of the cunning enchanter.

⁶O God, break the teeth in their mouths;

tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!

⁷Let them vanish like water that runs away;

like grass let them be trodden down and wither.^t

⁸Let them be like the snail which dissolves into slime,

like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.

⁹Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,

whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;

surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

PSALM 59

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

¹Deliver me from my enemies, O my God,

protect me from those who rise up against me,

²deliver me from those who work evil,

and save me from bloodthirsty men.

³For, lo, they lie in wait for my life;

fierce men band themselves against me.

For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

⁴for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse thyself, come to my help, and see!

⁵Thou, Lord God of hosts, art God of Israel.

Awake to punish all the nations;

spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

⁶Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

⁷There they are, bellowing with their mouths,

and snarling with^u their lips—

for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

⁸But thou, O Lord, dost laugh at them;

thou dost hold all the nations in derision.

⁹O my Strength, I will sing praises to thee;^v

for thou, O God, art my fortress.

¹⁰My God in his steadfast love will meet me;

my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹Slay them not, lest my people forget;

make them totter by thy power, and bring them down,

O Lord, our shield!

¹²For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,

let them be trapped in their pride.

For the cursing and lies which they utter,

¹³consume them in wrath,

consume them till they are no more,

that men may know that God rules over Jacob

to the ends of the earth. Selah

¹⁴Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

¹⁵They roam about for food,

and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶But I will sing of thy might;

I will sing aloud of thy steadfast love in the morning.

For thou hast been to me a fortress

and a refuge in the day of my distress.

¹⁷O my Strength, I will sing praises to thee,

for thou, O God, art my fortress,

the God who shows me steadfast love.

PSALM 60

To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

¹O God, thou hast rejected us, broken our defenses;

thou hast been angry; oh, restore us.

²Thou hast made the land to quake, thou hast rent it open;

repair its breaches, for it totters.

³Thou hast made thy people suffer hard things;

thou hast given us wine to drink that made us reel.

⁴Thou hast set up a banner for those who fear thee,

to rally to it from the bow.^w [Selah

⁵That thy beloved may be delivered,

give victory by thy right hand and answer us!

⁶God has spoken in his sanctuary:

“With exultation I will divide up Shechem

and portion out the Vale of Succoth.

⁷Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet;

Judah is my scepter.

⁸Moab is my washbasin;

upon Edom I cast my shoe;

over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

⁹Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

¹⁰Hast thou not rejected us, O God?

Thou dost not go forth, O God, with our armies.

¹¹O grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the help of man!

¹²With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.