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59 ‎[1] **For the chief musician, al tashhet **(see 57:1). ***·*****An instruction by David, when Saul sent men to watch the house in order to kill him. **This psalm relates to a specific event in David’s life, when Saul sent messengers to David’s house with orders to kill him. David succeeded in escaping at the last moment. In the verses that follow, he prays to be rescued from the continuing danger posed by those seeking his life.
‎[2] **Rescue me from my enemies, my God; secure me from those rising against me. **
‎[3] **Rescue me from evildoers; save me from men of bloodshed. **
‎[4] **For they lie in wait against me; fierce men have gathered against me for no transgression or sin of mine, Lord. **
‎[5] **They run **toward me **and prepare themselves **to do me harm,** through no fault of my own. Bestir Yourself for me, and see! **
‎[6] **As for You, Lord, God of hosts, God of Israel, arouse Yourself **and** **reveal Yourself, **to make reckoning** **with all the nations. **The mention of “all the nations” might be a reference to the fact that Saul, for a variety of reasons, made use of foreign mercenaries in his effort to rid himself of David.** Do not pardon all the treacherous evildoers, Selah. **
‎[7] David offers a description of those trying to capture him:** **They are nowhere to be found during the day, but** they return toward evening, barking like dogs and roaming the city. **Like wild dogs, they wander through the city primarily at night.
‎[8] **Here they are, making **threatening **declarations with their mouths, **as if they had **swords in their lips. **They feel that they can speak and act as they please,** for **they say to themselves:** Who hears?** They do not believe that God hears them and will hold them to account.
‎[9] **But You, Lord, laugh at them; You mock all the nations, **knowing that none of their schemes will be realized.
‎[10] **His strength! **This is a call to God’s power. **I will **hope and **wait for You, for God is my fortress. **
‎[11] **My merciful God will come toward me; **He will grant me consideration and come to protect me. **God will let me look upon **the downfall of **my foes. **
‎[12] The psalmist prays to God to deal with his pursuers:** Do not **simply **slay them, lest my people forget. **If you kill them, their nefarious deeds will be forgotten along with them. I pray that in their punishment they will remain alive, so that the people will be reminded of their misdeeds. **Scatter them by Your power and bring them down, our shield, my Lord. **
‎[13] **There is sin in their mouths **and in **the words of their lips. Let them be trapped **and then led to defeat** by their **own **pride, by the curses and lies that they utter. **
‎[14] **Destroy **them **in wrath, destroy so they are no more, and they, **everyone in the world,** will know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth*****,*** **Selah. **
‎[15] The psalmist reiterates and expands upon his previous description of his foes:* ***And they return toward evening, barking like dogs and roaming the city. **
‎[16] **They,** the dogs,** wander about, **searching for food** to eat; if they are not sated, they stay to sleep. **So too, Saul’s mercenaries prowl about in an unfamiliar city, searching for me everywhere.
‎[17] The psalmist ends with words of praise to God:* ***But as for me, I will sing of Your strength, **and **I will joyfully sing of Your kindness in the morning, for You were my fortress and a refuge on the day of my distress. **
‎[18] **My Strength, **God!** To You I sing praises. For God is my fortress, my merciful God. **
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center