Psalms 54:5-7

54:5 May those who wait to ambush me ¹  be repaid for their evil! ² 

As a demonstration of your faithfulness, ³  destroy them!

54:6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice ⁴  to you!

I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good!

54:7 Surely ⁵  he rescues me from all trouble, ⁶ 

and I triumph over my enemies. ⁷ 

[54:5]  ¹ tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.

[54:5]  ² tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.

[54:5]  ³ tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”

[54:6]  ⁴ tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve/vow to praise.

[54:7]  ⁵ tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the Lord’s name (cf. v. 6).

[54:7]  ⁶ tn The perfects in v. 7 are probably rhetorical, indicating the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance and his own vindication as if they were occurring or had already occurred.

[54:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”