Mazmur 18:17-18

18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, ¹ 

from those who hate me,

for they were too strong for me.

18:18 They confronted ²  me in my day of calamity,

but the Lord helped me. ³ 

Mazmur 56:1-3

Psalm 56 ⁴ 

For the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style; ⁵  a prayer ⁶  of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath. ⁷ 

56:1 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! ⁸ 

All day long hostile enemies ⁹  are tormenting me. ¹⁰ 

56:2 Those who anticipate my defeat ¹¹  attack me all day long.

Indeed, ¹²  many are fighting against me, O Exalted One. ¹³ 

56:3 When ¹⁴  I am afraid,

I trust in you.

[18:17]  ¹ tn The singular refers either to personified death or collectively to the psalmist’s enemies. The following line, which refers to “those [plural] who hate me,” favors the latter.

[18:18]  ² tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 5. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

[18:18]  ³ tn Heb “became my support.”

[56:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 56. Despite the threats of his enemies, the psalmist is confident the Lord will keep his promise to protect and deliver him.

[56:1]  ⁵ tn The literal meaning of this phrase is “silent dove, distant ones.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a type of musical instrument.

[56:1]  ⁶ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 57-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[56:1]  ⁷ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him and took him to King Achish of Gath (see 1 Sam 21:11-15).

[56:1]  ⁸ tn According to BDB 983 s.v. II שָׁאַף, the verb is derived from שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to trample, crush”) rather than the homonymic verb “pant after.”

[56:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “a fighter.” The singular is collective for his enemies (see vv. 5-6). The Qal of לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) also occurs in Ps 35:1.

[56:1]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the continuing nature of the enemies’ attacks.

[56:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 59:10.

[56:2]  ¹² tn Or “for.”

[56:2]  ¹³ tn Some take the Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “on high; above”) as an adverb modifying the preceding participle and translate, “proudly” (cf. NASB; NIV “in their pride”). The present translation assumes the term is a divine title here. The Lord is pictured as enthroned “on high” in Ps 92:8. (Note the substantival use of the term in Isa 24:4 and see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:34), who prefer to place the term at the beginning of the next verse.)

[56:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[in] a day.”