Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 18 Oct. 2026
Underlined words in Scripture quotes indicate words that are in common with the Biblical language text of the sermon passage. Otherwise, underlining indicates words to emphasize vocally when reading this transcript out loud.
Have you ever been under attack?
A number of the men in our congregation have had to endure literal attacks in wars as soldiers. Or maybe the greatest physical threat you’ve had so far was when a big kid started hitting or kicking you.
Maybe the attack has been verbal. Several years ago when our city commission was considering changing its laws to actively affirm homosexuality and cross-dressing, and I (along with some other pastors) spoke out publicly against it, the sexual revolutionaries who were pressuring our city commission to do this reacted by posting vile things about us online, including death threats. Or maybe the worst you’ve been threatened with is that someone said they’d never be your friend any more.
Or maybe the attack is spiritual. A barrage of awful thoughts overwhelms you and you can’t seem to get your mind back under control. It feels like the enemy is going to sweep you away into paralyzing fear and depression.
What can we do when we are under attack like that?
Read
my translation:
For the concertmaster, to “Do Not
Destroy,” by David, a journal when Saul sent a commission and they
kept guard over the house to put him to death.
Rescue me
from my enemies, God, /and\ raise me higher than those who rise up
against me! Rescue me from workers of iniquity, yes, from men of
bloodshed save me! For look, they have set an ambush for my soul;
they have gathered strong men against me for no transgression of
mine and no sin of mine, Yahweh – much less any iniquity! They run
up and establish themselves. Please rouse Yourself to call upon me
and see! Indeed, You, Yahweh, God of Armies, are the God of Israel.
Please spring into action to hold all the nations accountable; have
no mercy on any of those who are treacherous in iniquity. SELAH
They
return at evening, and they growl like the dog, and they surround
the compound. Look! They spout-off with their mouth; swords are in
their lips, because, ‘who is listening?’ But as for You, Yahweh,
You make fun of them; You mock at all the nations...
The superscription of Psalm 59 says that this is a Miktam journal entry of David’s from when King Saul had sent a commission to keep watch/guard over [David’s] house and put him to death.
This is described in 1 Samuel 19:9-11 “By and by, an evil spirit from Yahweh came /upon\ Saul while he was sitting in his palace with his spear in his hand, while David was strumming with /his\ hand. And Saul tried to make a strike with his spear through David and into the wall, but /David\ broke free from Saul's presence while he struck the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped during that night. Then, Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard it and to put him to death in the morning….” (NAW)
In this Psalm, it is those soldiers that David calls “my enemies … who rise up against me” in v.1 and “evildoers/lit. workers of iniquity” and “bloodthirsty men” in v.2. David looks out the window and sees that he can’t defend himself and his family against that many soldiers.
So he prays to God and says, “Rescue/deliver me… save me… protect/defend/lit. raise me higher than those who have risen up against me.”
A picture comes to mind from the basketball camp I attended this summer where we were taught to hold the basketball firmly with both hands and then raise it high above our heads as a safe position. Once you lift that ball above all the other players’ heads, holding it firmly in both hands, it’s very difficult for an opposing player to take the ball away from you. That’s a picture of what David asks God to do.
He prays to God because he believes it is God’s will to save him. In Psalm 20:1-2 he wrote, “Yahweh will answer you during a day of crisis. The Name of the God of Jacob will set you on high. He will send your help from [His] holy place, and from Zion He will sustain you.” (NAW) That’s what God does for His people, so that’s what David asks God to do.
Psalm 7:10 “My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart.” (NKJV)
Zechariah 8:7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Behold, I will save My people…’” (NKJV)
In verses 3-5, David further pleads his case with God by making his accusations as to the sins being committed against him while also declaring his innocence, and ending in verse 5 with a recommendation to find them guilty and punish them mercilessly.
This step of establishing where guilt lies and whether you are innocent is an important part of praying to God about your problems.
As Jesus pointed out in Matthew 7, if you are harping on moral “specks” in other people’s lives and are not paying attention to whole “logs” of sin blinding your own eyes, then you’re a hypocrite and you don’t have a good case before God.
Check to see whether you can honestly say with David, “I have not committed any transgression against them – no sin, no fault, no offense – much less any iniquity, so I have no guilt in this matter.”
“[O]ur confidence in our applications to a throne of grace will be proportional to the degree in which we are conscious of integrity; for we cannot fail to feel greater liberty in pleading a cause which, in such a case, is the cause of God himself.” ~J. Calvin, 1554 AD
All too often, we let our temper flare and speak too harshly or we are too quick to condemn and withdraw from someone else, and that hurts them, but we justify it to ourselves by saying that we got it back under control before too much damage was done, and besides, we just aren’t as bad that other person. Then we protect our pride by downplaying our sin and exaggerating their sin and refusing to admit any fault. Sometimes, a humble apology for a seemingly-insignificant offense can open up good will and clear away hostilities.
At the very least, we need to examine our heart to see if there is any sin we are harboring, because sin harms our fellowship with God. He is ready to forgive our sins if we confess them to Him and ask forgiveness in the name of Jesus (1 John 1:9). Then we can proceed to praying to God with a clear conscience about about our needs for justice in regards to others.
In verses 3-5, David levels accusations against his enemies:
v.3a “They have set an ambush for my soul/they lie in wait for me…” They won’t meet out in the open with me and give me an opportunity to negotiate a peaceful solution. They haven’t given me the opportunity to defend myself in a judicial trial. They simply stay in hiding and are hell-bent on killing me. There is nothing more I can do except to flee or to fight, so now it’s time for God to do something. This is a situation which calls for divine intervention.
Next, in v.3b, “They have gathered/conspire/stir up/launch mighty/fierce/strong men against me…” The enemy which is trying to kill me is bigger than I am. They are not allowing for a fair fight. I don’t have the resources to beat them, therefore it’s time for God to do something and intervene!
Then in v.4, “They rush in/run/attack and make ready/prepare/set themselves [against me].” Here, David speaks to the immediacy of the threat. Saul’s soldiers have already come running to the house David is hiding in and they have surrounded it. They are prepared to kill David the moment he sticks his head out the front door. There is no time to form a committee of inquiry and ask them to report within a year to the appropriations committee on a plan of action which might be voted on by the assembly the following year. The threat is right now and calls for God’s immediate intervention. David says, in effect, “God, dispense with the committee of inquiry and just come by my place tonight and see for Yourself!”
The last accusation David brings before God about his enemies is at the end of v.5: they are “wicked transgressors/who treacherously [plot] evil/iniquity.”
Different English translations employ different words here, but these words, “Wickedness/transgression/evil/iniquity” and “traitor/treachery” are words which are not about a mere personal slight against David; these are moral terms which denote offenses against God – the God who determines good from evil and who drew moral boundaries in His law, the transgression of which are offenses against God. The term “traitor/treacherous” particularly denotes persons who violated their covenant relationship with God knowingly by turning away from His word, His anointed leaders, and His worship to serve pagan gods and live a pagan lifestyle.
In contrast to that treacherous attitude, David is pursuing not being a transgressor or a rebel against God; he is pursuing the relationship of Yahweh being his God and him being one of God’s people. And notice how he claims his legal rights for God’s intervention in this time of crisis: he says in v.5, “You are Yahweh, God Almighty/God of Army hosts, God of Israel.” The logical argument is, “If you are a God, you are responsible to do the duties of a God, including saving and preserving His people. And if You have established Yourself as God of Israel, then you are responsible to bring justice and truth within Israel. Now, I am one of your people of Israel, and so You are obligated by Your own promises to help me! Furthermore, You say You are Lord Sabaoth/Master and commander of heaven’s army host of angels, so You have the resources to beat the enemies who have set themselves against me here, so I call upon You to bring Your resources to bear on the threat I am currently facing.” Reasoning logically like that with God in prayer strengthens your faith and opens up communication between you and God; it is really worth doing! David also uses the personal name for God to further demonstrate that he, as a member of God’s people, has a legal right to appeal to God, to call Him by name, and to expect God to respond. In the New Testament, the name Yahweh was replaced by the personal name of Jesus, and Jesus said, “whatever you ask in my name, that will I do...” (John 14:13, NKJV)
Now, after affirming his innocence and making his accusations and asking God to check it out for Himself, David proceeds in v.5 to recommend a course of action for God to take:
First he says “Awake/Rouse yourself...”
Now, this is not teaching that God sleeps and needs to be woken up. Later, David wrote in Psalm 121:4 “...He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.” (NKJV) This Hebrew verb can also be used to describe “springing into action” toward a certain goal, and I think that’s what David means here.
When we are not able to see God doing anything, it doesn’t mean God isn’t doing anything, it just means we can’t see God. He isn’t sleeping. Jesus said in John 5:17 “...My Father is always at his work…” (NIV 1984)
But God has so ordained things that He welcomes His people to work with Him, to recognize the sorts of things He wants to do and to ask Him to do those very things.
David is asking God to act in regard to his particular, urgent need for justice, just as he has before in Psalm 35:23 “Please mobilize [rouse/stir up] justice for me, my God and my Master, and awake/[spring into action] to prosecute my [case]!” (NAW, cf. 44:23)
Next David says, “visit/hold accountable/punish all the nations...”
The Hebrew verb paqad is often translated “visit,” but it is not referring to a peer making a social call but rather to an authority coming to bring accountability to those under his jurisdiction.
That’s why some versions translated it “punish,” although, again, this is not just calling God to come in blind fury at your beck and call, this is asking God to act with justice – to evaluate those under His authority and respond appropriately with punishment or blessing.
Finally, David adds, “Do not spare/Do not be merciful/gracious to any wicked transgressors/who treacherously [plot] evil/iniquity.”
We need to be careful with this one. It must not be applied in trying to manipulate God into being mean toward persons who have been mean to us. In this life, we need to have the attitude that Jesus had: “...I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” (John 12:47) “...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10, NKJV). The apostle Paul also modeled this attitude: 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 “...God was in the Anointed One reconciling the world to Himself, not reckoning their transgressions against them, having also set the word of reconciliation in us. Therefore we serve as senior-ambassadors on behalf of the Anointed One: as God exhorts through us, we are pleading on behalf of the Anointed One, ‘Be reconciled to God!’ … 6:2 [N]ow is the day of salvation...” (NAW)
However, we can affirm, along with David in these imprecatory Psalms that when it comes time for God to judge and punish evil, we are fully supportive of God’s justice and of everything He wants to do to stop evil and rescue His people from injustice.
The Apostle Peter did that when he quoted the imprecations of Psalm 109:8 concerning Judas Iscariot: Psalm 109 says, “They have... fought against me without a cause… When he is judged, let him be found guilty... Let his days be few, And let another take his office… Let there be none to extend mercy to him...” (Psalm 109:7, 8, 12, NKJV) In Acts 1:16, Peter said, “...Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” In the case of the disciple who “would betray the son of man with a kiss” (Luke 22:48), the imprecations of Psalm 109 “had to be fulfilled” – that was just.1
From David’s immediate perspective, he is upstairs in his house with his wife, and he could see Saul’s henchmen taking up positions around his house as the sun set, as described in verse 6. (By the way, I think that the word for “walled-city” here could also apply to the “walled-compound” of David’s residence, since it is typical for houses in the Middle East have walls around them.)
All night long, David’s sleep is disturbed by the ruckus of those soldiers outside his house. (Those of us who live in rural areas where the coyotes run around yipping and yammering all night like the wild dogs they are, know that sound from experience! It can send a chill up your spine!)
Verse 7 indicates that David can even make out what the solders are saying. They are hurling insults and threats at him, and it’s keeping him awake, and I imagine it is especially striking fear into his wife’s heart.
Some2 interpret the last phrase of v.7 as the enemies thinking that nobody can hear them, so they have no reason to show any restraint or carefulness in the noise they make and the things they say. They could be like the wicked man in Psalm 10:11 who “said in his heart, ‘God… has hidden His face; He never saw a thing!” (NAW)
However, I think that the last phrase of verse 7 means that they know David can hear them and so they are customizing their taunts specifically to stab David’s heart and terrorize him.3
But verse 8 tells us that David’s perspective is not limited to what he is experiencing with his eyes and ears; David is looking at the situation from God’s perspective.
From David’s perspective, an intimidating band of assassins has surrounded his house and is jeering at him,
but from God’s perspective, he sees God looking down from heaven at these yahoos who are so foolish as to threaten David whom God dearly loves and whom God has sent His Spirit to live in and whom God has big plans for, and these fools are so stupid as to imagine that God won’t hear them and hold them accountable for the things they’re saying. They are so puny sitting there with nothing more than 200 pounds of flesh on them compared to the massive immensity of the omnipotent God. It’s truly laughable how pathetic their little swords and spears are compared to fire and brimstone God has as His disposal. One look from God’s face and they’d all be ashes. And yet they have the ridiculous idea that it is they who is in control of David’s future and of history! The almighty creator of the ends of the earth gets a good laugh out of that. That’s God’s perspective, and David is reminding himself of this bigger picture.
“[T]hey forget that even when he seems to have suspended operation, he needs but nod, and his judgments shall be executed. David, accordingly, in contempt of his adversaries, tells them that God was under no necessity to make extensive preparations, but, at the moment when he saw fit to make retribution, would, by a mere play of his power, annihilate them all.” ~J. Calvin
I’ve been applying this to David’s situation, but David isn’t the only one this Psalm is talking about. The Psalms also tell us about Jesus the Messiah:
Jesus was threatened by “bloodthirsty” men too. The throng in Governor Pilate’s courtyard cried out, “Crucify Him… His blood be upon us…!” (Matt. 27:23-25)
And Jesus, even moreso that David, was completely innocent of any guilt or sin.
The whole thing about being surrounded by dogs is also figurative picture of what Jesus experienced on the cross. (It’s a little more obvious in Psalm 22:16 “For dogs have surrounded me – a crowd of hoodlums close in around me. They pierced my hands and my feet.”)
And in Psalm 2, the same two verbs from Psalm 59:8 about what God is doing while David is undergoing this harrowing experience are predicated of God while the “Kings of the earth set themselves up... against the Messiah… The One sitting in the heavens laughs, the Master mocks at them.” (Psalm 2:2-4, NAW, cf. 37:13)
Like David, when we are under attack spiritually or physically, it is important for us to step back and consider the big picture of God’s perspective on the threats which we face:
Whatever it is that feels threatening to you, that makes it feel like the dogs are growling and circling in for a kill – whatever it is that people are saying to you that feels like they are piercing you with swords – and whatever the circumstances are that make it seem that your enemies are going to get away with wrongdoing and not be held accountable, you need to remember how much bigger your God is than all this, how attentive He is to your prayers, how attentive He is to every act of injustice – both those of men and those of devils, how powerful He is to save and how easy it is for Him to hold the wicked accountable.
With this truth in mind of how big God is, once you have examined your own heart and called upon Him to save you, you can wait on Him to bring deliverance.
In David’s case, it was the old rope-out-the-back-window trick that Joshua and Caleb and the Apostle Paul employed, but it was not only that, but also the public humiliation of King Saul when he came after David with his army at the next place David took refuge, and the Spirit of God compelled him to strip off his clothes and lie naked in front of the Prophet Samuel for 24 hours. (It is not unusual for God to use both natural and miraculous means to deliver us.)
“His language teaches us that we should believe in the ability of God to deliver us even upon occasions of emergency, when our enemies have an overwhelming advantage.” ~J. Calvin, 1554 AD
So, what should you do if you are being physically attacked?
Well, ask God to deliver you and make sure you’re not doing anything sinful to make the situation worse.
And if God provides a “window,” as it were, to climb out to safety, by all means, take it, but do so, relying on God to protect you.
“These first eruptions of Saul's malice could not but put David into disorder and be both grievous and terrifying, and yet he kept up his communion with God, and such a composure of mind as that he was never out of frame for prayer and praises; happy are those whose intercourse with heaven is not intercepted nor broken in upon by their cares, or griefs, or fears, or any of the hurries (whether outward or inward) of an afflicted state.” ~M. Henry, 1714 AD
What if the attack is verbal?
Well, that gives you even more time to pray and check for logs in your eyes!
And when “swords are on their lips” and what they say wounds you deeply, remember that God is there with you, hearing those words too, and available for you to talk with Him about it.
Ask Him to hold you up out of reach from their threats and to hold them accountable for what they say.
And what does this Psalm teach us to do under a spiritual attack in our mind?
“[T]he devil and his angels, cease not to rise up upon us every day, and to wish to make sport of our weakness and our frailness, by deceptions, by suggestions, by temptations, and by snares of whatsoever sort to entangle us, while on earth we are still living. But let our voice watch unto God, and cry out in the members of Christ, under the Head that is in heaven, ‘Deliver me from mine enemies, my God, and from men rising up upon me, redeem Thou me.’” ~ Augustine, 400AD
And if you are in bondage to sin and not sure if God will save you from the eternal punishment your rebellion against Him deserves, you too can call upon this same God, in the name of Jesus Christ, to save you and deliver you from the power of devil into the kingdom and protection of His Son Jesus and forgive you so that you can be innocent of transgression on the basis of Jesus’ atonement for your sin when He died on the cross for you.
Join in the laughter of God as He saves His people and brings justice against all His and our enemies.
DouayB (Vulgate) |
LXXC
|
BrentonD (Vaticanus) |
KJVE (1769) |
NASBF (1995) |
NIVG |
ESVH (2025) |
NAW (2026) |
HebrewI |
BauscherJ |
E.M.CookK |
1 Unto the end, destroy not, for David for an inscription of a title, when Saul sent and X watched his house to kill him. (59:2) Deliver me from my enemies, O [my]L God; [and] defend me from them that rise up against me. |
1
Εἰς τὸ τέλος· μὴ διαφθείρῃς· τῷ
Δαυιδ εἰς στηλο γραφίαν, ὁπότε
ἀπέστειλεν Σαουλ καὶ ἐφύλαξ |
1 For the end. Destroy not: by David for a memorial, when Saul sent, and X watched his house to kill him. Deliver me from mine enemies, O X God; [and] ransom me from those that rise up against me. |
1 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. |
1 For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. |
1
For the director of music. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy."
Of David. A miktam. When Saul had sent men X
|
1
To
the choirmaster:
according
to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men X
|
1 /For the concertmaster, to “Do Not Destroy,” by David, a journal when Saul sent a commission and they kept guard over the house to put him to death.\ Rescue me from my enemies, God, /and\ raise me higher than those who rise up against me! |
א לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ אַל־תַּשְׁחֵת֮ לְדָוִ֢ד מִ֫כְתָּ֥ם בִּשְׁלֹ֥חַ שָׁא֑וּל וַֽיִּשְׁמְר֥וּ אֶת־הַ֝בַּ֗יִת לַהֲמִיתֽוֹ׃ ב הַצִּילֵ֖נִי מֵאֹיְבַ֥יM ׀ אֱלֹהָ֑י N מִֽמִּתְקוֹמְמַ֥י תְּשַׂגְּבֵֽנִיO׃ |
|
1.
For praise; concerning [the distress when David said,] “Do no
harm”; [composed] by David, |
3 Deliver me from them that work iniquity, and save me from bloody men. |
3 ῥῦσαί με ἐκ τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν ἀνομίαν καὶ ἐξ ἀνδρῶν αἱμάτων σῶσόν με. |
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. |
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. |
2 Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. |
2 Deliver me from evildoers and save me from bloodthirsty men. |
2 deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. |
2 Rescue me from workers of iniquity, yes, from men of bloodshed save me! |
ג הַ֭צִּילֵנִי מִפֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן וּֽמֵאַנְשֵׁ֥י דָ֝מִ֗ים הוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃ |
2
Save me from workers of |
3.
Deliver me from those who practice |
4 For behold they have caught my soul: the mighty have rushed in upon me: 5) Neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord: |
4 ὅτι ἰδοὺ ἐθήρευσαν τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἐπέθεντο ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ κραταιοί. οὔτε ἡ ἀνομία μου οὔτε ἡ ἁμαρτία μου, κύριε· |
3 For, behold, they have hunted after my soul; violent men have set upon me: neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord. |
3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. |
3 For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, |
3
See |
3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression X X or sin of mine, O LORD, |
3 For look, they have set an ambush for my soul; they have gathered strong men against me for no transgression of mine and no sin of mine, Yahweh – |
ד כִּ֤י הִנֵּ֪ה אָרְב֡וּ לְנַפְשִׁ֗י יָג֣וּרוּ עָלַ֣י עַזִּ֑ים לֹֽא־פִשְׁעִ֖י וְלֹא־חַטָּאתִ֣י יְהֹוָֽה׃ |
3
Because they lay in wait for my
soul and their evils prevailed
against me, not by my crime[s], and not by my sin[s], my |
4. For behold, they have lain in wait for my soul, the strong gathering against me; not on account of my iniquity, and not on account of my sin, O Lord. |
without
iniquity
have |
5 ἄνευ ἀνομίας ἔδραμον καὶ κατεύθυναν· ἐξεγέρθητι εἰς συνάντησίν μουR καὶ ἰδέ. |
4
Without
iniquity |
4 They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold. |
4
[For]
no
|
4
[I
have done]
no
wrong,
yet they are
ready |
4 for no fault [of mine], they run and make ready. Awake, [come] to meet me, and see! |
4 much less any iniquity! They run up and establish themselves. Please rouse Yourself to call upon me and see! |
ה בְּֽלִי־עָ֭וֺן יְרֻצ֣וּן וְיִכּוֹנָ֑נוּ ע֖וּרָהT לִקְרָאתִ֣י וּרְאֵֽה׃ |
4 That it is not [by my] foolishness they have run against me and were prepared [against me], awake and see! |
5.
|
even
thou, O Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel. Attend
to visit all the nations: have
no mercy on all them that
|
6
καὶ σύ, κύριε ὁ θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων
ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ, πρόσχες
τοῦ ἐπισκέψασθαι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη,
μὴ οἰκτιρήσῃς
πάντας τοὺς |
5
And thou, Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, draw
nigh to visit all the heathen;
pity
not any that |
5 Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. |
5 X You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. |
5 X X O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to X wicked traitors. Selah |
5 X You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; X spare none of those who treacherously [plot] evil. Selah |
5 Indeed, You, Yahweh, God of Armies, are the God of Israel. Please spring into action to hold all the nations accountable; have no mercy on any of those who are treacherous in iniquity. SELAH |
ו
וְאַתָּ֤ה יְהֹוָֽה־אֱלֹהִ֥ים ׀ צְבָא֡וֹת
אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל
הָקִ֗יצָה
לִפְקֹ֥ד |
5
X You are LORD JEHOVAH, God of hosts, God of Israel; awake and
|
6.
But you, O Lord God Sabaoth, God of Israel, awake
to punish all the Gentiles; do not pity
any of the deceitful
|
Douay (Vulgate) |
LXX
|
Brenton (Vaticanus) |
KJV (1769) |
NASB (1995) |
NIV |
ESV (2025) |
NAW (2026) |
Hebrew |
Bauscher |
E.M.Cook |
7) They shall return at evening, [and] shall suffer hunger like dog[s]: and shall go round about the city. |
7 ἐπιστρέψουσιν εἰς ἑσπέραν [καὶ] λιμώξουσινW ὡς κύων καὶ κυκλώσουσιν πόλιν. |
6 They shall return at evening, [and] hunger like a dog, and go round about the city. |
6
They return at evening: they make
a noise like |
6
They return at evening, they howl
like |
6 They return at evening, snarling like dog[s], and prowl about the city. |
6
|
6 They return at evening, and they growl like the dog, and they surround the compound. |
ז יָשׁ֣וּבוּX לָ֭עֶרֶב Yיֶהֱמ֥וּ כַכָּ֗לֶב וִיס֥וֹבְﬞבוּ עִֽירZ׃ |
6
They shall |
7. They will return at evening, they will raise a tumult like a dog, and they will encircle the city. |
8) Behold they shall speak with their mouth, [and] a sword is in their lips: for who, say they, hath heard [usAA]? |
8 ἰδοὺ ἀποφθέγξονταιAB ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν, [καὶ] ῥομφαία ἐν τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτῶν· ὅτι τίς ἤκουσεν; |
7 Behold, they shall utter a voice with their mouth, [and] a sword is in their lips; for who, say they, has heard? |
7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear? |
7 Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, "Who hears?" |
7
See [what]
they spew
from their mouths-- [they
spew out]
swords |
7
|
7 Look! They spout-off with their mouth; swords are in their lips, because, ‘who is listening?’ |
ח הִנֵּ֤ה ׀ יַבִּ֘יע֤וּןAC בְּפִיהֶ֗ם חֲ֭רָבוֹת בְּשִׂפְתֽוֹתֵי-הֶ֑ם כִּי־מִ֥י שֹׁמֵֽעַ׃ |
7
X TheX spe |
8. Behold, they will spew forth with their mouth [words sharp as] swords; with their lips [they say, “Let us boast,] for who is the one who will hear [and punish]?” |
9) But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them: thou shalt bring all the nations to nothing. |
9 καὶ σύ, κύριε, ἐκγελάσῃ αὐτούς, ἐξουδενώσεις πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. |
8 But thou, Lord, wilt laugh them to scorn; thou wilt utterly set at noughtAD all the heathen. |
8 But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. |
8 But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations. |
8 But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you scoff at all th[os]e nations. |
8 But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision. |
8 But as for You, Yahweh, You make fun of them; You mock at all the nations. |
ט וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הֹוָה תִּשְׂחַקAE־לָ֑מוֹ תִּ֝לְעַ֗ג לְכׇל־גּוֹיִֽם׃ |
8 And you, LORD JEHOVAH, laugh at them, and mock at all the nations. |
9. But you, O Lord, will laugh at them; you will mock all the Gentiles. |
1“Here evidently He is terrifying... What man falling back upon his own conscience would not tremble? … [T]his in two ways may be understood: either that in fact not any sins doth God leave unpunished; or that there is a sort of iniquity, on the workers whereof God hath indeed no pity.” ~Augustine
2Kimchi, Metsudath David, Matthew Henry, Delitzsch.
3Matthew
Henry seems to agree with me when he wrote, “Thus did David's
enemies, when they came to take him, raise an out cry against him as
a rebel, and traitor, a man not fit to live; with this clamour they
went round about the city, to bring a bad reputation upon David, if
possible to set the mob against him…”
Calvin suggested a
third interpretation: “...he rather traces the security with which
they prosecuted their counsels, and openly proclaimed them, to the
fact, that they had long ere now been in possession of the
uncontrolled power of inflicting injury.”
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text),
I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses
a wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in
my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the
Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original
text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a
word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an
X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the
English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help
the reader see correlations between the various editions and
versions when there are more than two different translations of a
given word. The only known Dead Sea Scroll containing Psalm 59 is
11Q8 Psalmsd, containing fragments of verses 3-7, and it
agrees completely with the Masoretic text (including having
appropriate spaces between legible words to match what it in the
MT). Where the DSS and/or ancient versions support each other
against the MT in such a way that I suspect they are the original
reading, I have highlighted
them with
yellow.
BDouay Old Testament first published by the English College at Douay, A.D. 1609, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword Aug 5, 2026.
CThe Septuagint (LXX), edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Published in 1935; public domain. As published on E-Sword Aug 5, 2026
DEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published on E-Sword Aug 5, 2026
E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword Aug 8, 2019.
FScripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
GThe Holy Bible, New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
HThis publication contains The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright ©2001, 2016, 2025 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV® Text Edition: 2025. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.
IFrom
the Wiki Hebrew Bible
https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8_%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D.
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com
JThe Peshitta Holy Bible Translated by Glenn David Bauscher, Copyright © 2018 Lulu Publishing, 3rd edition Copyright © 2019 as found on https://biblehub.com/hpbt/psalms/59.htm
KThe Psalms Targum: An English Translation, by Edward M. Cook, © 2001 Edward M. Cook. As found on http://targum.info/pss/ps2.htm
LThe word “my” is not actually in the Vulgate.
MThe LXX, Peshita, Targums, and Vulgate all read as though there is a final mem (and therefore no “my”), but there is no final mem in the MT.
NThe major punctuation is here in the Hebrew cantillation. The LXX, Peshitta, and Vulgate recognized that with a conjunction, although there is not a conjunction in the MT here.
ORV, ASV/NASB translate this verb literally as “set me high” whereas other English versions use more extended meanings such as “defend/protect.” A picture comes to mind from the basketball camp I attended this summer where we were taught to raise the basketball with both hands high above our heads as a safe position. Once you lift that ball above all the other players’ heads, holding it firmly in both hands, it’s very difficult for an opposing player to take the ball away from you.
PSyriac reads as though the Hebrew word were אדני instead of יהוה.
Q“My steps” in Douay are not in the original Latin but are added by the English translators for explanation.
RInstead of εἰς συνάντησίν μου, Symmachus rendered εξ εναντιας ‘υπερ εμου – more like the Peshitta and less like the MT.
SThe LXX spelling of this verb is ambiguous between first singular and third plural; Brenton chose the wrong person when he translated into English. 2nd Century Greek version by Symmachus reads with the synonym επιτρεχουσι (which is unmistakably third plural in person). The next Greek verb (“they direct” – the rest about “my course aright” was added by Brenton and is not in the Greek) is also unmistakably third plural in person, like the MT is, despite Brenton’s ambiguous rendering into English.
TThe
previous imperatives in this psalm did not have paragogic he
suffixes like this verb (and the verb “awake/arouse/activate” in
the next verse) do. Imperatives often have this suffix when an
inferior is asking a superior to do something. I believe this
denotes an intensification of respectful entreaty. cf. all the
previous uses of this verb in the Psalms (in NAW):
Psalm 7:6
“Arise, Yahweh, in Your anger! Be lifted up by [the] excesses of
my adversaries, and stir up for me [the] judgment You
decreed.”
Psalm
35:23 “Please
mobilize
justice for me, my God and my Master, and put Yourself on the alert
for arguing my [case]!”
Psalm
44:23 “Please stir
Yourself up! Why
should You be dormant, Master? Please become active; stop putting
off indefinitely!”
Psalm 57:8 “Let my glory
be roused, let the harp and guitar be roused! I will rouse
the dawn!”
UCalvin and Henry reasonably took “nations” literally as an expansion in the scope of this psalm from Saul’s henchmen to all the world’s systems of evil, but Delitzsch interpreted it figuratively as referring to “the heathen-minded in Israel... The poet evidently reckons himself as belonging to an Israel from which he excludes his enemies, viz., the true Israel which is in reality the people of God.” Gerald Wilson postulated that post-exilic Jews added the word “nations” to expand the meaning to their own context, but David was not so provincial as to make his authorship of this word implausible.
V“Not only did he know well that those of whom he speaks with such severity were already doomed to destruction, but he is here pleading the common cause of the Church, and this under the influence of the pure and well-regulated zeal of the Spirit. He therefore affords no precedent to such as resent private injuries by vending curses on those who have inflicted them.” ~J. Calvin
WAquila’s translation is more like the MT’s (οχλασατωσαν “they make a tumult”). Symmachus (συνηχησουσιν “after gathering together”) and Theodotian (ηχησουσιν – “after gathering”) were just as different as the LXX is from the MT.
XAugustine
interpreted this as “Let them convert,” as in repent and walk in
the ways of the Lord, which might be linguistically possible, then
interpreted the “dog” as a harmless animal, the “going around
the city” of Christians preaching, the “swords from lips” as
the Gospel, and “Who has heard” as Isaiah’s “Who has
believed our message” now that “the arm of the Lord has been
revealed in the sight of all nations,” but this is too great a
stretch.
Calvin more reasonably commented, “He says that
‘they return in the evening,’ to intimate, not that they rested
at other times, but were indefatigable in pursuing their evil
courses. If they came no speed through the day, yet the night would
find them at their work. The barking of dogs aptly expressed as a
figure the formidable nature of their assaults.”
YLXX,
Peshitta, and Vulgate all read as though there were a conjunction
here in the manuscript they were following.
As for the
meaning, it is associated elsewhere in the Bible with: the sound of
a coronation assembly (1 Ki. 1:41), a person moaning (Ps. 42:5ff,
and many other places), water/sea/waves (Ps. 46:3, Isa. 17:12, and
many other places), nations (Ps. 46:6), a saleswoman (Prov. 1:21,
7:11, 9:13), a drunk man (Prov. 20:1, Zach. 9:15), bears (Isa.
59:11), flutes (Jer. 31:36), the army of the Medes (Jer. 31:36), and
doves (Ezek. 7:16).
ZThis word is normally translated “city,” but its root meaning of a “walled-in place” can be reconciled with David’s “house” being the place to which soldiers were posted in 1 Sam. 19 by the fact that most homes in the Middle East have a wall around them, thus I translated it “compound” in this instance.
AAThe word “us” is not actually in the Vulgate, just as it is not in the LXX and MT. This was just an editorial addition by Douay.
ABCf. Sym. αποβλυζουσι (“they bubble forth”)
ACDelitzsch suggested “foam at the mouth.”
ADSymmachus translated with a word closer to the MT meaning with επιφθεγξη (“expostulate”),
AEcf.
other occurrences of this word in the previous Psalms:
Psalm
2:4 “The One sitting in the heavens laughs, the Master
mocks at them.”
Psalm 37:13 “The Master will
laugh at him because he sees that his day will come.”
Psalm
52:6 “Those who are righteous will see and fear, and they will
make fun over him:” (NAW)