For the Chief Musician; set to {That is, The silent dove of them that are afar off. Or, as otherwise read, The dove of the distant terebinths.}Jonath elem rehokim. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when the Philistines took him in Gath.
Be merciful unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up:
All the day long he fighting oppresseth me.
{Or, They that lie in wait of me}Mine enemies would swallow me up all the day long;
For they are many that fight proudly against me.
What time I am afraid,
I will put my trust in thee.
In God (I will praise his word),
In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid;
What can flesh do unto me?
All the day long they wrest my words:
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
They gather themselves together, they hide themselves,
They mark my steps,
{Or, Inasmuch as}Even as they have waited for my soul.
{Or, They think to escape}Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God.
Thou numberest my wanderings:
Put thou my tears into thy bottle;
Are they not in thy { Or, record}book?
Then shall mine enemies turn back in the day that I call:
This I know, { Or, for}that God is for me.
In God (I will praise his word),
In Jehovah (I will praise his word),
In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid;
What can man do unto me?
Thy vows are upon me, O God:
I will render thank-offerings unto thee.
For thou hast delivered my soul from death:
Hast thou not delivered my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the light of the { Or, life}living?
Querverweise zu Psalm 56,7 Ps 56,7
Shall the {Or, seat}throne of wickedness have fellowship with thee,Which frameth mischief by statute?
{Hebrew: Swallow up.}Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongue;For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous,And condemn the innocent blood.
{Or, as otherwise read, Desolations be upon them!}Let death come suddenly upon them,Let them go down alive into Sheol;For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the {Or, their inward part}midst of them.
There is no man that hath power over the {Or, wind}spirit to retain the {Or, wind}spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge {Or, in battle}in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.
But thou, O God, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction:Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days;But I will trust in thee.
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his {Or, pasture}habitation.
and come and stand before me in this house, {Hebrew: whereupon my name is called.}which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered; that ye may do all these abominations?
Give heed to me, O Jehovah, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.
Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless, and widows; and let their men be slain of death, and their young men smitten of the sword in battle.
Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them; for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
Yet, Jehovah, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me; forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight; but let them be {Hebrew: made to stumble.}overthrown before thee; deal thou with them in the time of thine anger.
Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he;