Mazmur 56:1

Psalm 56 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style; ²  a prayer ³  of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath. ⁴ 

56:1 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! ⁵ 

All day long hostile enemies ⁶  are tormenting me. ⁷ 

Mazmur 59:1

Psalm 59 ⁸ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ⁹  a prayer ¹⁰  of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. ¹¹ 

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

Protect me ¹²  from those who attack me! ¹³ 

Mazmur 69:4

69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, ¹⁴  outnumber me. ¹⁵ 

They make me repay what I did not steal! ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 144:12

144:12 Then ¹⁷  our sons will be like plants,

that quickly grow to full size. ¹⁸ 

Our daughters will be like corner pillars, ¹⁹ 

carved like those in a palace. ²⁰ 

[56:1]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the continuing nature of the enemies’ attacks.

[59:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.

[59:1]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”

[59:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”

[69:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).

[69:4]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).

[69:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.

[69:4]  sn They make me repay what I did not steal. The psalmist’s enemies falsely accuse him and hold him accountable for alleged crimes he did not even commit.

[144:12]  ¹⁷ tn Some consider אֲשֶׁר (’asher) problematic, but here it probably indicates the anticipated consequence of the preceding request. (For other examples of אֲשֶׁר indicating purpose/result, see BDB 83 s.v. and HALOT 99 s.v.) If the psalmist – who appears to be a Davidic king preparing to fight a battle (see vv. 10-11) – is victorious, the whole nation will be spared invasion and defeat (see v. 14) and can flourish. Some prefer to emend the form to אַשְׁרֵי (“how blessed [are our sons]”). A suffixed noun sometimes follows אַשְׁרֵי (’ashrey; see 1 Kgs 10:8; Prov 20:7), but the presence of a comparative element (see “like plants”) after the suffixed noun makes the proposed reading too awkward syntactically.

[144:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “grown up in their youth.” The translation assumes that “grown up” modifies “plants” (just as “carved” modifies “corner pillars” in the second half of the verse). Another option is to take “grown up” as a predicate in relation to “our sons,” in which case one might translate, “they will be strapping youths.”

[144:12]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here and in Zech 9:15, where it refers to the corners of an altar.

[144:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “carved [in] the pattern of a palace.”