143:9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord!
I run to you for protection. 1
18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, 2
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
119:98 Your commandments 3 make me wiser than my enemies,
for I am always aware of them.
18:48 He delivers me 4 from my enemies;
you snatch me away 5 from those who attack me; 6
you rescue me from violent men.
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 8 a prayer 9 of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. 10
59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!
Protect me 11 from those who attack me! 12
1 tn Heb “to you I cover,” which makes no sense. The translation assumes an emendation to נַסְתִּי (nastiy, “I flee,” a Qal perfect, first singular form from נוּס, nos). Confusion of kaf (כ) and nun (נ) is attested elsewhere (see P. K. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 48). The collocation of נוּס (“flee”) with אֶל (’el, “to”) is well-attested.
2 tn The singular refers either to personified death or collectively to the psalmist’s enemies. The following line, which refers to “those [plural] who hate me,” favors the latter.
3 tn The plural form needs to be revocalized as a singular in order to agree with the preceding singular verb and the singular pronoun in the next line. The
4 tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”
5 tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt, elevate” here, indicating that the
6 tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”
5 sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.
6 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.
7 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.”
8 tn Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.”
9 tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”
10 tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”