Mazmur 59:1

Psalm 59 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ²  a prayer ³  of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. ⁴ 

59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!

Protect me ⁵  from those who attack me! ⁶ 

Mazmur 138:1

Psalm 138 ⁷ 

By David.

138:1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;

before the heavenly assembly ⁸  I will sing praises to you.

[59:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.

[59:1]  ² tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-58, 75.

[59:1]  ³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-58, 60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[59:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.”

[59:1]  sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when Saul sent assassins to surround David’s house and kill him in the morning (see 1 Sam 19:11). However, the psalm itself mentions foreign enemies (vv. 5, 8). Perhaps these references reflect a later adaptation of an original Davidic psalm.

[59:1]  ⁵ tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”

[59:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”

[138:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 138. The psalmist vows to thank the Lord for his deliverance and protection.

[138:1]  ⁸ tn The referent of the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is unclear. It refers either to the angelic assembly (see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5) or to the pagan gods (see Pss 82:1, 6; 86:8; 97:7), in which case the psalmist’s praise takes on a polemical tone.