Psalm 57:1 New English Translation
Psalm 57[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a prayer[c] of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave.[d]
57 Have mercy on me, O God. Have mercy on me.
For in you I have taken shelter.[e]
In the shadow of your wings[f] I take shelter
until trouble passes.
Footnotes
- Psalm 57:1 sn Psalm 57. The psalmist asks for God’s protection and expresses his confidence that his ferocious enemies will be destroyed by their own schemes.
- Psalm 57:1 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 heading to Pss 58-59, 75.
- Psalm 57:1 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.”
- Psalm 57:1 sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when he fled from Saul and hid in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3.
- Psalm 57:1 tn Heb “my life has taken shelter.” The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.
- Psalm 57:1 sn In the shadow of your wings. The metaphor likens God to a protective mother bird (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7).
New English Translation (NET)
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