Psalm 56–60

¹To the Overseer.—‘On the Dumb Dove far off.’—A secret treasure of David, in the Philistines’ taking hold of him in Gath. Favour me, O God, for man swallowed me up, All the day fighting he oppresseth me,

²Mine enemies have swallowed up all the day, For many are fighting against me, O most High,

³The day I am afraid I am confident toward Thee.

⁴In God I praise His word, in God I have trusted, I fear not what flesh doth to me.

⁵All the day they wrest my words, Concerning me all their thoughts are for evil,

⁶They assemble, they hide, they watch my heels, When they have expected my soul.

⁷By iniquity they escape, In anger the peoples put down, O God.

⁸My wandering Thou hast counted, Thou—place Thou my tear in Thy bottle, Are they not in Thy book?

⁹Then turn back do mine enemies in the day I call. This I have known, that God is for me.

¹⁰In God I praise the word, In Jehovah I praise the word.

¹¹In God I trusted, I fear not what man doth to me,

¹²On me, O God, are Thy vows, I repay thank-offerings to Thee.

¹³For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, Dost Thou not my feet from falling? To walk habitually before God in the light of the living!

Psalm 57

¹To the Overseer.—‘Destroy not.’—A secret treasure of David, in his fleeing from the face of Saul into a cave. Favour me, O God, favour me, For in Thee is my soul trusting, And in the shadow of Thy wings I trust, Until the calamities pass over.

²I call to God Most High, To God who is perfecting for me.

³He sendeth from the heaven, and saveth me, He reproached—who is panting after me. Selah. God sendeth forth His kindness and His truth.

⁴My soul is in the midst of lions, I lie down among flames—sons of men, Their teeth are a spear and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.

⁵Be Thou exalted above the heavens, O God, Above all the earth Thine honour.

⁶A net they have prepared for my steps, Bowed down hath my soul, They have digged before me a pit, They have fallen into its midst. Selah.

⁷Prepared is my heart, O God, Prepared is my heart, I sing and praise.

⁸Awake, mine honour, awake, psaltery and harp, I awake the morning dawn.

⁹I thank Thee among the peoples, O Lord, I praise Thee among the nations.

¹⁰For great unto the heavens is Thy kindness, And unto the clouds Thy truth.

¹¹Be thou exalted above the heavens, O God. Above all the earth Thine honour!

Psalm 58

¹To the Overseer.—‘Destroy not.’—A secret treasure, by David. Is it true, O dumb one, righteously ye speak? Uprightly ye judge, O sons of men?

²Even in heart ye work iniquities, In the land the violence of your hands ye ponder.

³The wicked have been estranged from the womb, They have erred from the belly, speaking lies.

⁴Their poison is as poison of a serpent, As a deaf asp shutting its ear,

⁵Which hearkeneth not to the voice of whisperers, A charmer of charms most skilful.

⁶O God, break their teeth in their mouth, The jaw-teeth of young lions break down, O Jehovah.

⁷They are melted as waters, They go up and down for themselves, His arrow proceedeth as they cut themselves off.

⁸As a snail that melteth he goeth on, As an untimely birth of a woman, They have not seen the sun.

⁹Before your pots discern the bramble, As well the raw as the heated He whirleth away.

¹⁰The righteous rejoiceth that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹And man saith: ‘Surely fruit is for the righteous: Surely there is a God judging in the earth!’

Psalm 59

¹To the Overseer.—‘Destroy not,’ by David.—A secret treasure, in Saul’s sending, and they watch the house to put him to death. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God, From my withstanders set me on high.

²Deliver me from workers of iniquity, And from men of blood save me.

³For, lo, they laid wait for my soul, Assembled against me are strong ones, Not my transgression nor my sin, O Jehovah.

⁴Without punishment they run and prepare themselves, Stir up to meet me, and see.

⁵And Thou, Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel, Awake to inspect all the nations. Favour not any treacherous dealers of iniquity. Selah.

⁶They turn back at evening, They make a noise like a dog, And go round about the city.

⁷Lo, they belch out with their mouths, Swords are in their lips, for ‘Who heareth?’

⁸And Thou, O Jehovah dost laugh at them, Thou dost mock at all the nations.

⁹O my Strength, unto Thee I take heed, For God is my tower—the God of my kindness.

¹⁰God doth go before me, He causeth me to look on mine enemies.

¹¹Slay them not, lest my people forget, Shake them by Thy strength, And bring them down, O Lord our shield.

¹²The sin of their mouth is a word of their lips, And they are captured in their pride, And from the curse and lying they recount.

¹³Consume in fury, consume and they are not, And they know that God is ruling in Jacob, To the ends of the earth. Selah.

¹⁴And they turn back at evening, They make a noise like a dog, And they go round about the city.

¹⁵They—they wander for food, If they are not satisfied—then they murmur.

¹⁶And I—I sing of Thy strength, And I sing at morn of Thy kindness, For thou hast been a tower to me, And a refuge for me in a day of adversity.

¹⁷O my Strength, unto Thee I sing praise, For God is my tower, the God of my kindness!

Psalm 60

¹To the Overseer.—‘Concerning the Lily of Testimony,’ a secret treasure of David, to teach, in his striving with Aram-Naharaim, and with Aram-Zobah, and Joab turneth back and smiteth Edom in the valley of Salt—twelve thousand. O God, Thou hadst cast us off, Thou hadst broken us—hadst been angry!—Thou dost turn back to us.

²Thou hast caused the land to tremble, Thou hast broken it, Heal its breaches, for it hath moved.

³Thou hast shewn Thy people a hard thing, Thou hast caused us to drink wine of trembling.

⁴Thou hast given to those fearing thee an ensign. To be lifted up as an ensign Because of truth. Selah.

⁵That Thy beloved ones may be drawn out, Save with Thy right hand, and answer us.

⁶God hath spoken in His holiness: I exult—I apportion Shechem, And the valley of Succoth I measure,

⁷Mine is Gilead, and mine is Manasseh, And Ephraim is the strength of my head, Judah is my lawgiver,

⁸Moab is my pot for washing, over Edom I cast my shoe, Shout, concerning me, O Philistia.

⁹Who doth bring me to a city of bulwarks? Who hath led me unto Edom?

¹⁰Is it not Thou, O God? hast Thou cast us off? And dost Thou not go forth, O God, with our hosts!

¹¹Give to us help from adversity, And vain is the deliverance of man.

¹²In God we do mightily, And He treadeth down our adversaries!

Psalm 61