For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 2 a prayer 3 of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. 4
59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!
Protect me 5 from those who attack me! 6
89:16 They rejoice in your name all day long,
and are vindicated 7 by your justice.
89:17 For you give them splendor and strength. 8
By your favor we are victorious. 9
33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; 10
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; 11
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
2:9 As a result God exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
2:10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow
– in heaven and on earth and under the earth –
2:11 and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.
1 sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.
2 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 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 tn Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.”
5 tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”
6 tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”
7 tn Heb “are lifted up.”
8 tn Heb “for the splendor of their strength [is] you.”
9 tn Heb “you lift up our horn,” or if one follows the marginal reading (Qere), “our horn is lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).
10 tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
11 tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”