Psalms 54–7
Psalm 54:1-7
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Psa.54.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בנגינת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cs
- משכיל: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 56 (heading) (verbal): Shares the identical superscription language (musical direction and attribution): לְמַנְצֵחַ בְּנַגִּינָת מִשְׂכִּיל לְדָוִד — a direct verbal parallel in the headings.
- Psalm 57 (heading) (structural): Like Ps 54, this psalm is an attributed Davidic composition used in worship (similar combination of choir‑director instruction and Davidic ascription), showing a shared liturgical/genre function.
- Psalm 16 (heading) (structural): Also labeled מִכְתָּם (miktam) of David — parallels Ps 54 in genre designation (a short, titled Davidic poem of special status).
- Psalm 3 (heading) (structural): Begins with לְמַנְצֵחַ and is attributed to David; parallels Ps 54 in addressing the choirmaster and indicating liturgical performance.
Alternative generated candidates
- To the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
- To the choirmaster. For the stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
Psa.54.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בבוא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הזיפים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- לשאול: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- הלא: PART
- דוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מסתתר: PART,qal,pres,3,m,sg
- עמנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 23:19-21 (allusion): Narrative account of the Ziphites going to Saul and reporting that David was hiding among them—the historical episode to which the psalm's superscription alludes.
- 1 Samuel 26:3 (verbal): Another report of the Ziphites informing Saul that David was hiding; the language and situation closely parallel the psalm's wording about David 'hiding with us.'
- 1 Samuel 23:14 (thematic): States that David was dwelling in the wilderness/strongholds of Ziph, providing the geographic and situational background for the Ziphites' betrayal referenced in the psalm.
- Psalm 52:1 (thematic): A Davidic lament connected to an informant (Doeg) who told Saul about David—shares the theme of treachery and denunciation of those who betray David to the king.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the Ziphites came they said to Saul, “Is not David hiding with us?”
- When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, "Is not David hiding among us?"
Psa.54.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בשמך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON:2ms
- הושיעני: VERB,hiph,impv,2,m,sg
- ובגבורתך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+SUF,2,m,sg
- תדינני: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg+SUF,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 20:7 (verbal): Both appeal to reliance on the LORD’s name for deliverance — ‘we trust in the name of the LORD our God’ echoes ‘by your name save me.’
- Psalm 31:2–3 (thematic): A personal plea for rescue and vindication by God’s strength — ‘be my rock and my refuge; deliver me’ parallels asking God to save and vindicate.
- Psalm 35:1–3 (structural): Similar petition-form and judicial language — ‘Contend, O LORD...fight against those who fight against me’ parallels asking God to vindicate and defend the petitioner.
- Psalm 44:26 (allusion): Corporate cry for divine help and redemption ‘Rise up, help us, and redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love’ echoes the request that God act to preserve his honor and save his people.
- Exodus 15:2 (thematic): Declaration of God as the source of salvation and strength — ‘The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation’ parallels appeal to God’s might as the ground for deliverance.
Alternative generated candidates
- O God, save me by your name; by your power, vindicate me.
- O God, by your name save me; by your might vindicate me.
Psa.54.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שמע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תפלתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1s
- האזינה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לאמרי: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cstr
- פי: NOUN,m,sg,construct
Parallels
- Psalm 55:1 (verbal): Begins with the same petition 'Give ear to my prayer, O God' (hear/attend to the prayer), closely matching the request in Ps 54:4 for God to hear the psalmist's words.
- Psalm 86:6 (verbal): Uses the same wording 'Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications,' paralleling Ps 54:4's plea for God to hear and give attention to the psalmist's speech.
- Psalm 102:1 (thematic): Opens with 'Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee,' sharing the central theme of earnest petition and the cry for God's attentive hearing found in Ps 54:4.
- Psalm 17:1 (verbal): Calls on God to 'hear a righteous cause' and 'give ear to my cry,' echoing the imperative to 'hear my prayer' and attend to the psalmist's words in Ps 54:4.
- 1 Kings 8:52 (structural): Part of Solomon's temple-prayer formula ('that the LORD may hear in heaven... and grant him compassion'), reflecting the formal petitionary structure—appeal for God to hear the supplication—parallel to the petitionary line of Ps 54:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
- God, hear my prayer; lend ear to the words of my mouth.
Psa.54.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- זרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- קמו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ועריצים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בקשו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- לא: PART_NEG
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לנגדם: PREP,3,m,pl
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Psalm 70:2 (verbal): Both verses cry for vindication against those who ‘seek after my soul’; language and plea for deliverance from persecutors are closely parallel.
- Psalm 10:4 (verbal): Describes the wicked who ‘will not seek after God’/‘God is not in all his thoughts,’ echoing Psalm 54:5’s charge that the attackers ‘have not set God before them.’
- Psalm 56:1-2 (thematic): Speaks of many enemies who would ‘swallow me up’ and daily oppress the psalmist—a similar situation of hostile strangers rising against the speaker.
- Psalm 35:11 (thematic): Mentions false witnesses and hostile men who ‘rose up’ against the psalmist; parallels the image of adversaries and unjust persecution found in Psalm 54:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- For strangers have risen up against me, and violent men seek my life; they have not set God before them. Selah.
- For strangers have risen against me, and ruthless men seek my life; they have not set God before them. Selah.
Psa.54.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עזר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- בסמכי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+1,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
Parallels
- Hebrews 13:6 (quotation): Explicit NT citation of the formula 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear,' closely echoing the declaration of God as helper in Ps 54:6.
- Psalm 121:2 (verbal): Uses the same motif/wording of divine help—'My help comes from the LORD'—paralleling Ps 54:6's assertion that God is the psalmist's helper/upholder.
- Isaiah 41:13 (thematic): God promises to uphold and help his people ('I am the LORD your God... I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand'), matching the theme of God as upholder of the soul in Ps 54:6.
- Psalm 70:5 (verbal): 'You are my help and my deliverer, O LORD' echoes the exact claim of personal dependence on God as helper/deliverer found in Ps 54:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, God is my helper; the LORD sustains the soul I have committed to him.
- Behold, God is my helper; the Lord sustains my life.
Psa.54.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ישיב: VERB,hifil,imperfect,3,m,sg
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
- לשררי: PREP,NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss1s
- באמתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+2,m,sg
- הצמיתם: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg,obj3mp
Parallels
- Ps.7:15-16 (verbal): Uses the same imagery of the evildoer's plot turning back on himself — 'his mischief shall return upon his own head' — closely corresponding to 'may evil return on my enemies.'
- Prov.26:27 (verbal): Proverbial counterpart: 'Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,' expressing the same idea that the wickedness devised for others returns to the doer.
- Ps.35:8 (thematic): A petition that destruction come upon the enemy and that his hidden snares entrap him — thematically parallel to asking God to repay and cut off adversaries.
- Ps.109:12-15 (thematic): Part of an imprecatory lament calling for the enemy to be repaid and cut off; parallels the psalmist's appeal for God to bring ruin on foes in faithfulness.
- Ps.55:23 (thematic): Entrusts the evildoer to God so that he will 'bring down' the wicked into destruction—similar trust that God will repay and remove enemies.
Alternative generated candidates
- He will repay evil to my foes; in your faithfulness, cut them off.
- May he repay evil to my adversaries; in your faithfulness, cut them off.
To the choirmaster. For the stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, "Is not David hiding among us?"
O God, save me by your name; vindicate me by your might.
O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life—they have not set God before them. Selah.
Behold, God is my helper; the LORD sustains my life.
May he repay evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness cut them off.