Psalm 59:1

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 59:1 sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.
2. Psalm 59:1 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 superscription to Pss 57-58, 75.
3. Psalm 59:1 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.”
4. Psalm 59:1 tn Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.”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.
5. Psalm 59:1 tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”
6. Psalm 59:1 tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”