Psalms 16:1

Psalm 16 ¹ 

A prayer ²  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ³ 

Psalms 57:1

Psalm 57 ⁴ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ⁵  a prayer ⁶  of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave. ⁷ 

57:1 Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!

For in you I have taken shelter. ⁸ 

In the shadow of your wings ⁹  I take shelter

until trouble passes.

Psalms 58:1

Psalm 58 ¹⁰ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ¹¹  a prayer ¹²  of David.

58:1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions? ¹³ 

Do you judge people ¹⁴  fairly?

Psalms 59:1

Psalm 59 ¹⁵ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ¹⁶  a prayer ¹⁷  of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. ¹⁸ 

59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!

Protect me ¹⁹  from those who attack me! ²⁰ 

Psalms 60:1

Psalm 60 ²¹ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ²²  a prayer ²³  of David written to instruct others. ²⁴  It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down ²⁵  12,000 Edomites ²⁶  in the Valley of Salt. ²⁷ 

60:1 O God, you have rejected us. ²⁸ 

You suddenly turned on us in your anger. ²⁹ 

Please restore us! ³⁰ 

[16:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[57:1]  ⁴ 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.

[57:1]  ⁵ 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.

[57:1]  ⁶ 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.”

[57:1]  ⁷ 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.

[57:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “my life has taken shelter.” The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[57:1]  ⁹ sn In the shadow of your wings. The metaphor likens God to a protective mother bird (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7).

[58:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 58. The psalmist calls on God to punish corrupt judges because a vivid display of divine judgment will convince observers that God is the just judge of the world who vindicates the godly.

[58:1]  ¹¹ 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 57, 59, and 75.

[58:1]  ¹² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam) which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 56-57, 59-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[58:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “Really [in] silence, what is right do you speak?” The Hebrew noun אֵלֶם (’elem, “silence”) makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some feel that this is an indictment of the addressees’ failure to promote justice; they are silent when they should make just decisions. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֵלִם (’elim), which in turn is understood as a defectively written form of אֵילִים (’elim, “rulers,” a metaphorical use of אַיִל, ’ayil, “ram”; see Exod 15:15; Ezek 17:13). The rhetorical question is sarcastic, challenging their claim to be just. Elsewhere the collocation of דָּבַר (davar, “speak”) with צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “what is right”) as object means “to speak the truth” (see Ps 52:3; Isa 45:19). Here it refers specifically to declaring what is right in a legal setting, as the next line indicates.

[58:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the sons of mankind.” The translation assumes the phrase is the object of the verb “to judge.” Some take it as a vocative, “Do you judge fairly, O sons of mankind?” (Cf. NASB; see Ezek 20:4; 22:2; 23:36.)

[59:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.

[59:1]  ¹⁶ 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.

[59:1]  ¹⁷ 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.”

[59:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.”

[59:1]  ¹⁹ tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”

[59:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”

[60:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.

[60:1]  ²² tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.

[60:1]  ²³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[60:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to teach.”

[60:1]  ²⁵ tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.

[60:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).

[60:1]  ²⁷ sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.

[60:1]  ²⁸ sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.

[60:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”

[60:1]  ³⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.