Psalm 57

New King James Version

Prayer for Safety from Enemies^(A)

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[a]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David ^(B)when he fled from Saul into the cave.

57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
^(C)And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
^(D)Until these calamities have passed by.

²I will cry out to God Most High,
To God ^(E)who performs all things for me.
³^(F)He shall send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches the one who ^[b]would swallow me up. Selah
God ^(G)shall send forth His mercy and His truth.

⁴My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men
Who are set on fire,
^(H)Whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.
⁵^(I)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

⁶^(J)They have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me;
Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah

⁷^(K)My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
⁸Awake, ^(L)my glory!
Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.

⁹^(M)I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the ^[c]nations.
¹⁰^(N)For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,
And Your truth unto the clouds.

¹¹^(O)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

Footnotes

Psalm 57:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
Psalm 57:3 snaps at or hounds me, or crushes me
Psalm 57:9 Gentiles

Psalm 58

New King James Version

The Just Judgment of the Wicked

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[a]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David.

58 Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
²No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.

³^(A)The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
⁴^(B)Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
⁵Which will not ^(C)heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.

⁶^(D)Break^[b] their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
⁷^(E)Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
⁸Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
^(F)Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.

⁹Before your ^(G)pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away ^(H)as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
¹⁰The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the ^(I)vengeance;
^(J)He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
¹¹^(K)So that men will say,
“Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who ^(L)judges in the earth.”