Psalms 57:4

I am surrounded by lions; I lie down ¹  among those who want to devour me; ²  men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are a sharp sword. ³ 

biblegateway Psa 57:4

I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

biblegateway Psa 57:4

My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows And their tongue a sharp sword.

biblegateway Psa 57:4

I am surrounded by fierce lions who greedily devour human prey––whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows, and whose tongues cut like swords.

biblegateway Psa 57:4

I find myself in a pride of lions who are wild for a taste of human flesh; Their teeth are lances and arrows, their tongues are sharp daggers.

SABDAweb Psa 57:4

My soul is among lions; I am stretched out among those who are on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and whose tongue is a sharp sword.

bibleoremus Psa 57:4

I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords.

biblegateway Psa 57:4

My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.

biblegateway Psa 57:4

I am surrounded by lions; I lie down ¹  among those who want to devour me; ²  men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are a sharp sword. ³ 

¹ tn The cohortative form אֶשְׁכְּבָה (’eshkÿvah, “I lie down”) is problematic, for it does not seem to carry one of the normal functions of the cohortative (resolve or request). One possibility is that the form here is a “pseudo-cohortative” used here in a gnomic sense (IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3b).

² tn The Hebrew verb לָהַט (lahat) is here understood as a hapax legomenon meaning “devour” (see HALOT 521 s.v. II להט), a homonym of the more common verb meaning “to burn.” A more traditional interpretation takes the verb from this latter root and translates, “those who are aflame” (see BDB 529 s.v.; cf. NASB “those who breathe forth fire”).

³ tn Heb “my life, in the midst of lions, I lie down, devouring ones, sons of mankind, their teeth a spear and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.” The syntax of the verse is difficult. Another option is to take “my life” with the preceding verse. For this to make sense, one must add a verb, perhaps “and may he deliver” (cf. the LXX), before the phrase. One might then translate, “May God send his loyal love and faithfulness and deliver my life.” If one does take “my life” with v. 4, then the parallelism of v. 5 is altered and one might translate: “in the midst of lions I lie down, [among] men who want to devour me, whose teeth….”